The Fifth Race
by Lord Nomad
Summary: Stargate SG1/Battlestar Galactica Crossover: Set after the movie "the Ark of Truth" and Season 3 of BSG. The remnants of the 12 colonies of Kobol are at the end of their journey and encounters the Fifth race.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. The characters and the universe of the Battlestar Galactica do not belong to me. I make no profit from this story.

This story is a crossover between Stargate SG1/Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica 2003.

**Prologue: The Fifth Race V2**

The end of the ORI war marked the start of a new age for Earth: the Age of Development. Finally free of a war that was taxing its resources their eyes were set on the inside. By the start of the year 2009, the decision was made to give the IOA, under a new directorship, the means to implement the lessons learned in the galaxy: the IOA's new authority, derived from its incorporation into the ONU, decided Earth's Intergalactic Policy.

By Mid 2009, the development of the delta site, a new off world base replacing the beta site, would start with a transfer of activity from the SGC to the Delta site because while the Cheyenne Mountain Complex allowed a completely secret program, it did not allocate any expansion of its activities. As a matter of fact, the study of technologies brought from the off worlds missions carried by the SGC during its tenure was previously a domain reserved to Area 51 in the state of Nevada but after numerous breaches in security and infiltration by the Trust it was decided that a new facility for the SGC: Earth would be necessary. The new facility was soon ready, not on the planet but on a large space station installed on the Moon and equipped with all the new technologies discovered off world: transport between Earth and the Moon was assured by Asgard Beam and liberal use of shielding technology allowed the facility to have a living area capable of housing a hundred thousand scientists, diplomats and military personnel, additionally to a complete work facility 5 times as big as Area 51. The transfer of competence was approved and as soon as the SGC's Lunar Base was completed, the new programs began: the diplomacy negotiations and research projects were handled by the SGC: Earth and the SGC: Delta Site handled all the explorations and combat missions. Thanks to an increase in its funds, the SGC: Delta Site was able to train and maintain in activity a contingent of 200 SG Teams.

Free of the tracking by the ORI of the Asgard Database onboard the Odyssey, a duplicate was transferred on the moon base as to start it's study and the re engineering of technologies it contained notably the blueprints for the Asgard O'Neill mother ships and its replication technology.

The partial release of knowledge acquired during the tenure of the SGC was decided as a jumpstart for the Planet's technologic evolution. By the end of 2009, artificial gravity, Naquada reactors and revolutionary mathematics theories started a new industrial revolution. The Naquada reactors replaced progressively the old plutonium nuclear reactors plants permitting the refit of the energy grid as to accept more power, and the drop of energy prices in the world. The artificial gravity and its counterpart artificial Antigravity were spreading in a multitude of directions, from transport to habitations (the first habitable HUB began construction in 2009 and was finished in 2010 with accommodations for thousands (Earth's first floating city was born). And finally the mathematical theories bred true in the discovery of the fabled cold fusion reactors in 2010, which pronounced the death sentence of fossil energy.

In 2011, the Stargate Program, in part, was revealed to the General Public. The aftershocks of this revelation forced the new IOA to curtain the advantages obtained by the Stargate program to Democratic Governments and Allies. A new Satellite defense grid was installed in orbit around the planet for both defenses from without and within. Sensors were installed which detected the use or creation of new technology and the satellites were used to control the spread of the technology. Several terrorist groups were discovered and automatically eradicated like this by their unauthorized use of technology. Little by little, with much protestation from the foreign governments, a treaty was put in place to allow the use of new technology in exchange of the adoption of democratic governments and the cessation of hostilities on the planet.

By the end of 2015, Earth was one of the major powers of the Milky Way Galaxy alongside the Jaffa Nation, their allies.

This development was the final stone as an interplanetary development, by the colonization of 2 planets rich in essential mineral deposits for Earth. Ship yards were created in orbit around the new colonies where the industrial process for the construction of Earth's first space Fleet.

Thanks to the study of the Asgard and Ancients databases, Hybrids ships were designed using the combined technology (see vessels description at the end of the chapter); Earth was finally able to show the galaxy why they were the Fifth Race.

Earth's Fleet first challenge came from an unlikely front, the Pegasus Galaxy: Michael, the Wraith/Human hybrid unleashed the hybridization Virus which converted humans and wraith alike into hybrids under Michael's control. Thanks to the database recovered from Michael's laboratory in 2008 by the Atlantis Expedition, the clone of Doctor Becket was released from cryogenic chamber and administered the serum which kept him alive. Thanks to his knowledge in genetics he was able to successfully create an antivirus which disabled the human hybridization process in the virus but leaving the wraith part intact. Free from the threat of this Virus, the human population of the Pegasus Galaxy was left almost untouched contrary to the Wraith who fell to this Virus or at Michael's Hands. By the End of 2011, the entire Wraith population was replaced by Hybrids under Michael's control. Due to the loses endured by the wraith military during the hybridization his final attack was launched at the end of 2012 on Atlantis: 100 Wraith Cruisers and 50 Hive ships, the entire Wraith Fleet under one command, Michael's. His goals were simple, capture Atlantis and its technology, and use it to dominate with his Hybrids the Pegasus Galaxy.

Unfortunately for his Goals, he did not count on an armed response from Earth. He was met, not by 1 or 2 ships and the Atlantis City like he encountered previously but by the First Fleet composed of 21 ships: 10 _Odyssey_ Class Battle cruisers, 5 _Prometheus_ Class Battle Cruisers, 5 _Beliskeners_ Class Asgard Mother ship and finally the first and only Earth made _O'Neill _Class Asgard Mother ship.

With _Atlantis_ powered by Naquada Cold fusion Generators, the City was able to power its shields and assist the Fleet by deploying its contingent of drones. With the Drones concentrating their Fire on the Hive Ships, the 1 Fleet under the command of General Jack O'Neill attacked the Wraith Cruisers. While they were able to defeat them, even with 7:1 odds, the Fleet took heavy damages and lost 18 ships including the _O'Neill _Class Asgard ship.

The Battle of Pegasus was the final battle for the Wraith and their Hybrids descendants and marked the end for this engineered Race.

2016 was marked with the creation of the Terran Federation, a federal government instituted by Earth and its colonies. The federation was ruled by a Federal President elected by the citizens. In an amalgam of the models of the federal government of the USA and the European Union each nation or colony of earth conserved its internal policy and inter-economy, but the galactic representation and global policy is assured by the Terran Federation.

The federation's Army was instituted and at the same time took precedence over the national armies of earth which were disbanded and incorporated. Due to the complete change of strategic necessities compared to the old army of earth, instead of an army, navy and air force the division was between the Space Navy and the Space Troopers.

In 2020 the Atlantis City was brought back from the Pegasus galaxy after a suitable replacement in orbital defenses and army troops became available and installed in its place.

The City became the new Capital of the Federal Government on Earth and like its name sake was situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This decision was made so as to not favor any earth country and make homage to the Ancients, racial ancestors of Humans everywhere in the galaxies.

By the year 2030, the Terran Federation spanned 15 worlds between its 4 colony worlds, the old Allied Worlds (Langara, Cimmeria, Edora, Galar, Hebridan, Latona, Madrona, Orban, Tegalus, Tagrea, Etc) and the liberated worlds from the Aschen Confederation. These Worlds were a part of the Aschen confederation until their war against the federation in 2020: after years of searching, the Aschen were able to discover the Stargate address for Earth and send ships to conquer the planet. Their surprise was complete for instead of discovering a planet inferior technologically to them they found an enemy ready to meet them head on. This war marked the renewal of the Terran Armies. The Terran Space Navy previously used evolutions of their first Daedalus class Battle Cruisers incorporating more and more Asgard and Ancient technology in their makeup. But the Terran Ships design had to evolve to enable a more powerful integration of the technologies. In the Year 2 of the Aschen war, the decision was made: an entire new line of ships needed to be created. This was the birth of the _Hephaestus_, first in the line of Dreadnoughts followed by the Heavy Carrier, _Zeus_ and the Cruiser _Artemis_. But the real tide of the war turned when the most powerful ship ever created by the Terran Space Navy exited space dock, causing a rupture in the long file of Greek divinities named ships, (finally succumbing to the incessant nagging from the (retired) General Jack O'Neil) the Super Dreadnought _Enterprise._ Finally, after 8 years of war and a civil rebellion on their captured planets, the Aschen surrendered to the Terran Federation.

In 2050, the Nox, ending their isolation on their Home world, decided to renew contact with the Terran Federation. Thanks to their help in advanced healing technology, a gene therapy was developed for the population of the Terran Federation. This gene therapy was widespread and permitted the dissemination of the ancient gene and the elimination of the human gene defects which put an end to numerous illnesses and gifted humans with a longer lifespan. The therapy also jumpstarted the natural evolution of the human brain, with the help of the Alteran Gene, and allowed the Human members of the Terran Federation to evolve past their physical capabilities.

With the last pockets of Goa'ould found and banished, the Milky Way Galaxy is finally at peace in thousands of years.

But an old Memory brings back in its wake the whispers of troubles to come……

Description of Terran Federation Ships and technology Post Aschen War:

**Composition of a ****Squadron**:

4 cruisers

1 Heavy Carrier

2 Dreadnoughts

**Composition of a ****Fleet:**

2 Squadrons

1 Super Dreadnought

6 Cruisers

**Ships:**

Cruisers: The cruisers are an inspiration from the early earth battle cruisers without their complement of Space Superiority Fighters. Its shape is that of a 200 meter long Plane with "Wings" on the back, like a T. It's primarily used as an escort or attack group of 4 ships.

-Powered by 2 Neutrino Ion generators.

-2 Alteran Drone launchers on their "wings" capable to launch swarms of Alteran drones

-Point defense lasers to protect their hangar bays.

-Hangar bay equipped with 10 standard Jumpers

-Their more powerful weapon: Antimatter Cruise missiles capable of destroying a planet by burrowing into the core before detonating.

Heavy Carrier: the Heavy Carrier is the space equivalent of the old Earth Aircraft Carrier. It is an Half Saucer Shaped Ship of a kilometer of diameter and with 200 meters high towers on its top. The ship has along its edge 50 launch tubes for Superiority Space Fighters and 3 Hangar bays capable of beaching a cruiser size ship.

-Capacity of 300 Superiority Space Fighters launched in waves of 50.

-Powered by 1 ZPM and 4 Neutrino Ion Generators as backup.

-Defense Shield tied directly with one of the ZPM, its defenses must be optimal as its attack capabilities are dependant in their Superiority Space Fighters.

-Point defense plasma cannons around the launch and hangar bays.

Dreadnought: this mother ship is the equivalent of the Asgard O'Neill class ship. Its role is to destroy capital size enemy ships. Its length is 500 meters by 150 meters with a height of 300 meters at its highest.

-Powered by 4 neutrino Ion generators and a ZPM especially for its hyper space engines. Thanks to that it's considered the fastest ship in the fleet.

-Heavy Laser weapon capable of dissecting a capital ship in half

-1 life Zone, heavily shielded area of the ship where the crew and their family's quarters are installed, in the shape of a city and with artificial sunlight.

-1 hangar bay equipped with 20 Jumpers

-Antimatter Missiles

-4 Alteran drones launchers

Super Dreadnought: veritable behemoths, these ships are the central pieces of any fleet deployed and are generally used as the Flagship of the Fleet's Admiral. Shaped in an H form of 2 dreadnought interconnected, these ship are 2 KM in length by 1 KM.

-Powered by an artificial singularity derived from the ORI ships, placed and controlled in the middle of the ship. It provides a limit less energy capacity for the ship and, if necessary, the other ships of the fleet.

-All the dreadnoughts capability of attack times 2.

-Enormous life zone capable to sustain 5 thousand people plus its crew of 2 000.

**Technologies:**

-ZPM: Zero Point Module, Ancient power source, cylindrical in shape and containing energy compatible with Ancient technology -- including the Stargates. A Z.P.M. derives its enormous power from vacuum energy, derived from a self-contained region of subspace time, and has a potential life of many millions of years.

Some Ancient technology requires Z.P.M.s, and the city of Atlantis relies on three of the units for its primary power generation. A Zero Point Module or equivalent power source is required for a Stargate to establish a wormhole to a gate in another galaxy. It is possible to construct a version of the device from Earth-based materials, as Jack O'Neill (under the influence of the Ancients' library of knowledge) once did to reach the Asgard when he needed their aid.

SG-1 first discovered the technology when O'Neill, again under the influence of the Ancients' knowledge, led them to the planet Proclarush to retrieve a Z.P.M. from Taonas, the Ancients' abandoned base there. They brought it back to Earth and found the Atlantis outpost in Antarctica, where the device powered the Ancient drone weapons that destroyed Anubis's attacking fleet. The module was later used to power the Stargate for the Atlantis expedition's long-distance journey to the Pegasus Galaxy.

-SATELLITE SYSTEM: It incorporates groupings of pyramidal drones equaling a massive defense system which could easily protect an entire planet. These advanced orbital satellites are capable of detecting incoming vessels while they are still thousands of light years away, and able to break through shields to destroy mother ships.

The satellites are powered by heavy liquid Naquada, an extremely rare and refined form of the mineral. Each device is equipped with at least two long-range sensors.

-Alteran Drone Weapon: Of Ancients origin these extremely lethal weapon, when activated, will automatically seek out a target to destroy. Not unlike a squid in its dormant appearance, drones are controlled by the mind of an operator in a central chamber, or aboard a Puddle Jumper. Multiple drones often operate in tandem with one another, and they are able to operate in space or in an atmosphere, and can easily penetrate the most advanced Goa'ould shield technology. Thousands of the weapons comprise the Ancient super-weapon discovered on Earth. Drone weapons are not to be controlled by the inexperienced or weak-minded. One inaccurate command and a drone will come to life, seeking out a target on its own. The technology can be installed in a multitude of Ancient technologies, from outposts to Puddle Jumper ships. En masse they are typically powered by Zero Point Modules, though single drones can apparently operate from smaller power sources.

-Gene Therapy: developed jointly with the Nox, this gene therapy rewrote a large part of the Human genome. Thanks to the study of the Ancients and Jaffa genome several ameliorations were introduced to give a better lifespan and the ATA gene of the ancients as well as advancing the level of development of the human brain. Several genetic illnesses were also corrected and purged from the human genome.


	2. Chapter 1

The Fifth Race: Chapter 1 V2

**12 September 2125, Edge of the Milky Way Galaxy,**

The Battlestar _Galactica_ and the remnant of the 12 colonies of Kobol were desperate. Emerging from a jump in the Ionian Nebula, their road to the fabled 13 colony of Man, they discovered an ambush where 4 Basestars awaited them. Deploying its complement of Vipers as to give some time for the fleet to restart their FTL drives and Jump to the next coordinates, Admiral William Adama was sure that this battle was to be the final requiem for the Galactica.

After 3 years of fleeing and barely surviving, after an occupation on New Caprica by the Cylons which resulted in the destruction of the Battlestar _Pegasus_ and 10 000 of colonials on the planet, they were at the end of the journey, without accomplishing their goal.

Even if the fleet was able to Jump to emergency coordinates, their ability to survive without the protection of the _Galactica _was slim at best.

Preparing to give the order to engage he was stopped from doing so by the voice of LT Gaeta.

"Sir, I have Viper 3 on the line, he wishes to speak with you."

"Who is on that Viper LT?"

"Lee, sir."

"Patch him through. Lee, what are you doing aboard one of my Vipers?"

"Sorry sir but you needed every able person capable of flying a Viper. It's unbelievable but I've got a visual on a Viper Mark II with Starbuck onboard. She says she found Earth Sir!"

"What! That's impossible, you know it Lee, she's dead, and you saw her Viper explode yourself!"

"I know sir but I see her, even if I have no explanation."

"Contact this ship M. Gaeta!"

"Yes sir!"

"This is Galactica Actual, who am I speaking to?"

"This is Starbuck, Actual happy to hear your voice sir!"

"How did you survive?"

"I would prefer to tell you in person, sir."

"Very well. Lee guide her aboard."

"Yes sir."

"M. Gaeta, what is the situation?"

"The cylon fleet did not move since appearing in front of us sir. It's strange they did not even deploy their raiders!"

"What is the condition of the fleet?"

"Half the fleet has already jumped to coordinates, I estimate 10 minutes to complete jump."

"Call our Vipers back, and prepare jump as soon as they land!"

"Yes sir!"

Ordering the marines to bring Starbuck to the brig as soon as she docked, he assessed the situation unfolding in front of his eyes already wondering why the Cylon set up an ambush if they did not try to attack as soon as they appeared.

20 minutes had already passed and still they did nothing which was highly unusual for them. Since New Caprica, their desire to destroy humanity seems to diminish. Their new goal apparently was to discover Earth before them, for reasons unknown. His hypotheses were numerous but none of them rang truer than the other, did they want to destroy Earth? Occupy them? Try to settle with them like they tried to do with the colonials on New Caprica? This hypothesis had merit, as the destruction of the colonies deemed these worlds unfit to inhabit and their original home world was unknown. Arriving in the brig with Saul Tigh, he was amazed to discover that the pilot that talked to him really seems to be Kara Thrace, as unbelievable as it seems.

Unknown to him Saul tigh was asking himself a more dangerous question. He just discovered that Samuel Anders, Galen Tyrol, Tory Foster and he himself were Cylons, probably four of the "Final Fives" that no other Cylons knew. He knew that Lee Adama SAW Captain Thrace's Ship explode and that for a short time before that she seems to be distracted by something, not unlike the distraction that occupied their mind before the truth was revealed to them. Finally he knew that the only thing that resurrected were Cylons. These cold facts were running in his head the entire way to the brig and he was afraid. First that the pilot really was Kara Thrace and that if it was in fact her, she was a Cylon, the Final Five. He knew then and there that if she was a Cylon that he had to do everything in his power to protect the Old Man, even reveal himself to his best friend.

The decision imposed itself when they arrived to a brig and the discussion that took place there.

"Captain Thrace, I'm really happy to see you but I need to know. How is it possible?"

"I don't know sir. One Minute my Viper is on the point of being destroyed by the storm and the next I'm on a ship talking to some people from Earth! I saw Earth sir and I know how to get the fleet there to be reunited with the 13th Tribe. But we need to hurry sir the more time we waste on the Nebula the more the road to Earth will be hazardous for the fleet."

Tigh listened and listened well to Thrace's story but the gleam in her eyes and her demeanor was giving him shills in his spine. While before the Holocaust on the colonies she was spunky with a lot of insolence and a confidence and ego so large it filled a Battlestar, everything changed with the Cylon attack and the hurdles they encountered on the way as she became progressively more focused and intense, jaded in her view like she lost a part of her spirit on New Caprica. The Kara Thrace in front of him did not have any of that acquired ship on her shoulder, seeming too carefree in her attitude with the Admiral. What frightened him even more was the relief he felt in the Admiral at the return of the daughter he never had "Bill I need to talk to you before this continues any longer." Blurted Tigh his remaining eye fixed on Starbuck.

"Now is not really the time Saul, let me finish this debriefing and then we will talk." Grunted Adama, his focus entirely on Kara.

"No Bill this is too important! I think she is a Cylon, one of the Final Five!" Insisted Tigh.

At this, the marines got to attention and started to point their weapons on Starbuck taking positions at a respectable distance to cover the room without giving the opportunity of close encounters with a Cylon with augmented force.

Turning to face Tigh, his voice cold "What makes you say that! Where is you proof Saul! I will not have random accusations made in fear seeding doubts in the word of a Colonial Officer."

Resolute to protect the colonials even at the cost of losing all he cared about, Saul replied "My proof is that I am a Cylon!"

"What!"

"I discovered it just before the jump, along as three others. We are like Sharon, sleeper agents that don't even know they are Cylon. The Cylon don't even know who we are, they call us the "Final Five" and are unaware of our identities only that we exist. I have reason to believe that she can be a Cylon."

"And what reasons do you have to believe that she is a Cylon?"

"Lee saw her ship explode right in front of his eyes. I don't know you, but for me, apart from the gods, the Cylons are the only thing I now that can resurrect!!"

"And I'm supposed to trust you, when you tell me that you are a Cylon! What assures me that this is not some plot to make me discard any information that Starbuck gives me? You could just be telling me this so that the road to Earth remains in Cylon's hands!"

"Bill, if I can be a Cylon while being a Colonial Officer for 30 years I think that she can be as well!"

Almost red with rage, Adama could only growl "Very well, for the moment until we jump you both will stay under confinement in the brig. We will discuss this later; I still have a situation to escape from and I don't need any distractions right now."

Returning to CIC Adama couldn't know that the whole situation was going to change radically.

**

* * *

Same Day, 100 light years from the Ionian Nebula, Super Dreadnought "**_**General's Glory**_**", 25TH Fleet**

The 25th fleet was patrolling the far reaches of the Federation, scouting under full cloak for eventual pirates. Since the fall of the Goa'ould empires, criminal organizations like the Lucian Alliance polluted the Federation trying to pass illegal drugs, contraband and generally making nuisances of themselves by attacking pleasure cruises and civilian transports. Unfortunately, the looted Goa'ould mother ships used by the pirates while not dangerous for the Terran Navy ships were hazardous for the civilian trade and convoy ships navigating in space. Any pirate ship encountered by the Terran space Navy was to be disabled or destroyed if any opposition was met.

Fleet Admiral Delterre was reading a report on the status of his fleet when a communication from the bridge interrupted him.

"Yes?"

"Admiral, this is Chen, we detected several unknown Ships at the edge of our galaxy, and the frontier pickets picked several engagements between 2 parties. They are currently staying near a nebula and apparently ready to enter Federal Space territory."

"I see, Commander prepare to engage hyper drives to see what the situation is I will rejoin you to the bridge in a few minutes. When we arrive, order the Fleet to engage their cloaking system at maximum power, I don't want to alert their attention until we are able to do a threat assessment of the situation. Delterre Out."

While the Admiral was on the way, Commander Chen ordered a hyper space jump to the coordinates of the nebula. The estimated time of arrival was 30 minutes which gave him time to go manually to his actions station. Federal ships were for their most powerful vessels operated by an Asgard AI who could decide to beam the crewmen to their actions stations if they were too far to make it in time. Since the ship itself was as big as a city it provided a security measure in case of emergency and permitted the crew to live in the central "city" part of the ship but still be able to be ready for action at a moment's notice.

Arriving in the nebula, the admiral ordered a tactical survey of all the ships in the area. The answer the Ship's AI gave him was not one he expected.

The tactical report done via the scanning by the sensors aboard the ship was strange to say the least. On one side a capital ship, the size of a _Beliskener_ Asgard ship, was guarding a fleet of about 30 unarmed ships with FTL capability but with an unknown type of FTL engine. As they arrived ships after ships disappeared, 7 light years away. On the other side, a squadron-size fleet of ships between a _Beliskener_ and _O'Neill _class ship were preparing to send their fighters, apparently in response to the other side reaction.

What was strange was that while the ships were equipped with FTL technology, they still appeared to use a combustible energy system and did not use any shielding technology and conventional type weapons instead of energy ones.

With this observation the ship's AI, Freya, was able to deduct that these ships may not have developed their FTL technology on their own as their level of development otherwise was only the equivalent of what Earth would have been now if not for the Stargate and Earth's allies. Furthermore this FTL technology was something even the Asgard did not know of as their FTL drive did not open a hyper space window but folded space allowing them to disappear and reappear instantly.

The last of the small fleet of ships finally disappeared away with their protector following them.

"Freya what can you tell us about the opposing fleet of ships?"

"Admiral, the basic technology level of these ships is approximately equivalent of the first ones but they appear to be equipped with AI and advanced computer technology contrary to their opponent. Their FTL drive also appears to be slightly more efficient but of the same type. What intrigue me however is that these ships appeared to be crewed with Cyborgs, robots and some kind of low level life form installed in their fighters while the other ship that disappeared appears to be crewed with humans."

"Humans? That changes everything. With their level of technology the first contact directive does not apply and we can render assistance if we need to. We will monitor the situation from afar and let Atlantis make the decision to contact them or letting them be."

"Very well."

"Sir, the last fleet just jumped away, our sensors tell me that they are following the first fleet."

"Helm, Plot a course to their destination."

"Aye sir."

"Let's see how the situation pans out."

**

* * *

Colonial remnant fleet, same day, safe rendezvous point, 7 light years away from the Ionian Nebula**

Now that their life weren't in immediate danger of destruction by the Cylons the Admiral decided to proceed with the interrogation with Athena of the "supposed" Cylon Kara Thrace and Saul Tigh. After talking with Tigh, he revealed the name of the 3 others who discovered their identity with him: Sam Anders, Galen Tyrol and Tory Foster. He was horrified to think that Saul Tigh, his friend for 40 years, a colonial military man for 30 years while in the middle of the original Cylon war could be a Cylon! How where they able to attain human form so soon and keep it a secret so long.

From what they could gather from the interrogation of the Final Five, their identities were so secret that no one not even themselves knew their identities. They assured the admiral that like Athena they were still colonials and that their discovery of their Cylon origin would not change that fact. This revelation and their voluntary surrender was everything he needed to allow them the benefit of the doubt and at Tigh's suggestion he conceded to his presence during Starbuck's interrogation.

He was however still weary of Kara Thrace. As Saul said if Kara was a Cylon, and there was a good chance she was since it seems to be the only logical reason behind her surviving the explosion of her Viper, then her claims of discovery of Earth were highly suspicious. Moreover who said it was their Kara Thrace and not a copy since the Cylons had the habit to come in series.

Knowing that the goal of the Colonials was to find Earth, the Cylons may have plotted a trap to destroy them once and for all.

Entering the brig to interrogate Starbuck with Tigh in tow he noticed her reaction to his presence. Her jaw was clenched and she seems to regard Tigh with a hateful glare so powerful that if her looks could have killed him she would have done so. This more than anything else put the Admiral on tension: it was not the regular hateful glare that used to be between them but a stare that told him that his intervention and presence here was a betrayal both to her and her plans. And it was time to find out what those were.

"Hello Kara, or is it Kara? I wonder? You did not seem to like that we did not follow through with your plan or did not count on the fact that the others Final Five woke up on their own and decided to remain faithful to the colonies."

She seemed to struggle to formulate a response before she gave a resigned sigh "Yes I seem to be in a difficult position."

"So now tell us? What were your plans? Are you a copy or our Kara Thrace?"

"Since you have the others at your side I think my game is up. I was ready to spin you a tale of discovering Earth and how the 13th tribe was ready to accept us with open arms but you are right, my time is up. I already transmitted my coordinates to the Cylon fleet and am waiting for them to show up. One way or another, the 12 colonies of Kobol will not remain a problem for long."

Adama turned toward Tigh and gave him his orders "Saul go to CIC and prepare everyone for the arrival of the Cylon fleet, tell M. Gaeta to compute new coordinates for the FTL drive and if needed, Athena, go help him."

Thrace approached the cell doors, like an animal stalking its prey, a confident gleam in her eyes "Originally we planned to lure you to a distant planet, making you think that you were finally finding Earth. I was then to launch a tactical weapon we developed that would have destroyed the FTL capabilities of your ships, leaving you stranded in this system, viable yes but without the basic minerals necessary to build FTL drives. You would have survived but not be able to retaliate against us in the future, answering by this the goals of the 2 groups that formed inside the Cylon decision making: 1 group wanted to annihilate you finishing the cleaning we did in the colonies while the other thought that the attack on the colonies was a mistake. With that plan, both goals would have been attained and we would have been free to discover Earth on our own. Now you left us no choice, we will destroy you."

With that she spun around and kicked him away through the cell bars, then pressed a hand on the side of her arm and plunged her fingers inside her forearm to activate a hidden mechanism. The moment she did that a wave emitted from her which destroyed the FTL drive of the _Galactica_. For a minute, Admiral William Adama was ready to kill her here and there, something he never thought he would have to do to Kara Thrace, a woman he loved like she was his own daughter. However he did not need to as the release of the FTL weapon seemed to have killed her judged by the still and shocked looks she sported on her face. He left in a hurry in direction of the CIC hoping that everything was alright, shouting orders as he passed to the marines guarding the door to tie her up and send her body to Cottle in case she was faking it.

Unfortunately, the worse had happened, as the moment he appeared in the CIC 4 Basestars appeared and LT Gaeta informed him of the FTL and navigation computer failure.

Explanation on the Asgard AI: With the Asgard Computer finally installed in the moon base they were able to explore its contents at their leisure. What they discovered is that some of the Asgards, the ones overruled by their council concerning the decision to give their knowledge to Earth, decided to leave a copy of their mind inside the databanks. With this discovery the technicians decided to give them a chance to still live and have a function by becoming the AI of the Terran Fleet more powerful ship: the Super Dreadnoughts, Dreadnoughts and Heavy Carriers. They have a complete citizenry inside the Federation since they are not strictly AI but REAL minds.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Fifth Race: Chapter 2 V2  
**

**Colonial remnant fleet, safe rendezvous point, 7 light years away from the Ionian Nebula.**

"Admiral, the Vipers are deployed and ready to engage at your orders" Captain Kelly told him when he arrived in CIC "do not engage yet, wait until they deploy their raiders. M. Gaeta what is the condition of the FTL drive?"

"From what I could gather the wave that hit us fried the circuits from the navigation computer, erasing all our navigational software and the telemetry data used to plot Jumps. But there is worse, this wave corrupted the coils from the Jump drive and we don't have the equipment to replace it. Even if we could restore the navigational computer, we still couldn't Jump!" replied Gaeta.

"So you are telling me that we are stuck here and that there is nothing we can do? What about jettisoning one of the FTL drives of the Fleet's ships?" asked Adama.

"If this was in any way possible I would have suggested it myself, sir, but no FTL drive in the Fleet could manage the power that would be required to fold space for a ship as big as the _Galactica_. We would need to take the Jump Drives of at least 2 ships and combine them and even then we need at least a week if not more to install everything on the _Galactica_. I'm afraid that at the present moment the _Galactica_ is stuck in this location for as long as the reparation takes" said Gaeta, the emotion tick in is voice while trying to maintain his professionalism in the face of the Admiral.

"Then we will do everything to give a chance of survival to the fleet. Order the Vipers to dock inside some of ships in the fleet. Their task will be to protect it in our place. We will try to escape in the Raptors. Give me Fleet wide, I have an announcement to make!"

This was the end for the _Galactica_ and while he was torn by leaving the fleet without its protector, he at least had the comfort to now that his ship will go by doing its intended function and not end its life rusting in a ship's graveyard or decommissioned as a Museum.

"Sir, you have Fleet wide"

"Fellow colonials, we are at a turning point in our journey for Earth. The Cylons wished to detour us because they know we are close to our goal! Earth is in our reach but we have to survive this day. _Galactica_ will stay behind to help the fleet Jump to safety. Godspeed and show the universe that the 12 colonies of Kobol are still alive!"

"Very moving speech bill" said Saul Tigh.

"I know but we have to give them some hope for a future if we want them to continue on without us, I don't want the Cylons to win by default." Said Adama quietly to his XO and best friend.

"Admiral, I have Apollo on the wireless asking for instructions" said Dee.

"Give me a private com line. Apollo you are now reinstated as a commander, I'm putting you in charge of the Viper Fleet, you must protect it at the best of your ability, understood?"

"Yes Admiral…Dad I'm sorry that our last words to each other were words of anger. I wish now that I had kept my cool better." The admiral's silence was starting to worry Lee and just as he was about to call for his father the line restarted.

"Lee… you and I made decisions in the sadness of Kara's death. The reason I let Baltar go was that you were right. I was blinded by my anger and couldn't see you reaching to bring us to our senses. I know that you were only trying to stop us from acting in revenge. We did not try to bring justice but to appease our thirst for blood. I know I wasn't the best father but know that I loved you. Good luck, _Galactica_ Actual Out." With this emotional moment gone the need for is attention came screaming at him in the form of LT Gaeta's shout of"DRADIS CONTACT".

"Report M. Gaeta, what do we have?" screamed the XO.

"The Basestars are launching Raiders, by the look of things their entire contingent of ships, sir!"

"Bring us about; protect the Fleet with the _Galactica._ I need Athena; she is the only one able to compute new coordinates for the fleet from the navigation computer of a Raptor. Have her Jump afterwards with the fleet. She is their only chance to survive now. M. Kelly fire at will with the batteries on the Raiders, we need more time so that the fleet can jump."

A chorus of "Yes sir" echoed inside the CIC where everyone was getting ready to fight the battle of their lives.

**

* * *

25****th**** Fleet, en route to Colonial Fleet approximate position,** **Super-Dreadnought **_**General's Glory**_**.**

The discovery of the Colonial and Cylon fleets became a major concern for the Admiral and his command Team. Not only was there a First Contact situation but furthermore what appeared as a refugee fleet was trying to reach Earth, the Capital of the Terran Federation. While First Contact situations were difficult enough in their own in their level of complexity, the fact that the first contact was with a refugee fleet made things very delicate. Fortunately, since the beginning of the exploration activities on Earth, each fleet was equipped with a fully functional Contact Office with specialists whose roles was to prepare to soften the choc of discovery. The Contact Office was designed to attenuate the overwhelming presence of the Terran Federation. Not only were the Terrans more evolved genetically than the rest of the Galaxy's human population, but their superior technology appeared, to more "primitive" civilizations, as godlike magic powers. From these situations, one of the first laws of exploration was instituted: no Terran Citizen should present himself as a higher being to primitive civilizations, and if stranded in a primitive civilization, is forbidden to teach any advanced technology. While this law of non-sharing technology seemed harsh, it was made after studying the histories of both the Asgard and Ancients people: in their past, both civilizations made grave mistakes by providing technology to less advanced populations. These populations used the technologies gifted to them to bring their civilizations to the brink of annihilation. While the Terran Federation did not make these same mistakes they considered themselves as the successors of the Asgard and Ancients legacies and took lessons from their history.

Via the decryption of the radio chatter between the Cylon and Colonial fleet they amassed a massive amount of data but numerous grey areas remained. The colonials appeared to speak a language derived from Latin. This information proved to be the most important one of all. The basis for the Latin language came, on Earth for example, from contact with the Ancients. That the Colonials spoke Latin showed they had contact at least once with the Ancients in their past but due to their technological level the contact must not have been as important as the one in the Milky Way or Pegasus Galaxy. With this information, the Contact Office was already finding ways to prepare the talks that would, inevitably, happen. While they were forbidden to contact a less advanced society, the fact that the Colonials possessed FTL capabilities granted them representations rights in the Terran Federation. As stated in the Terran Federation fundamental laws, the federation was created to unite the Human population of the universe to help the sharing of philosophies and ideas for the betterment of all Human kind. This, in effect, permitted any Human society which evolved technologically to a space faring level, the right to at least ask for entry into the Federation.

While the Contact Office was preparing itself to accomplish its function, the command Team was preparing a strategy to disarm the threat posed by the Cylon Fleet and at the same time protect the Colonials. The Cylons were a less advanced race technologically wise but the sensors did detect nuclear weaponry onboard their ships and a simple mistake in the strategy adopted may well doom the Colonials, if only one Nuclear Missile was successful in its mission.

The idea for the moment was to take the cylon fleet in sandwich, with 14th Squadron sent to protect the colonials by playing interference between the 2 fleets while the _General's Glory_ and its 6 defense Cruisers were to ask for their surrender and if any resistance was encountered, destroy the Cylon Fleet from the other front of conflict.

But every strategy had its drawback; in this particular case the Admiral was hoping that their show of force would be a sufficient deterrent to the Cylon's attack on the Colonials. What were the more dangerous weapons in the Cylons arsenal was not their nuclear weaponry but their ability to disappear and reappear instantly anywhere in a 14 light years radius, giving them the option to do "hit and run" strikes with a very small response window for the Terran Ships. The Admiral's concern was not for the safety of his fleet, as they were equipped with very powerful shield technology, but for the civilian colonial fleet which will then be vulnerable.

From observation of the Colonial deployment Philosophy, Admiral Delterre's theory was that as soon as possible the colonials would have the civilian fleet jump to safety while the Warship would protect their retreat. For this reason the 190th squadron was to follow the civilian fleet and render assistance if needed, but remain under cloak otherwise. The Contact Office preferred that, except in case of emergency, the civilian fleet was left alone until contact was firmly made with the commanding officer from the Warship as in typical Refugee Coalition; it was the Military Leader that assumed total command.

With the plan finally decided and the orders transmitted to all ships commanders, the 25th Fleet was ready for Action.

**

* * *

Colonial remnant fleet, safe rendezvous point, 7 light years away from the Ionian Nebula.**

Admiral William Adama was not sure what the Colonies ever did to the Gods but he was sure that it was something very bad. The Situation went from bad to worse as the Raiders began to engage the Vipers which were rapidly becoming overwhelmed. The Vipers were protecting the civilian fleet from the Raiders to the best of their ability while Athena, onboard one of the Raptors, was computing Jump coordinates to transmit to the fleet.

The _Galactica i_tself was under heavy fire and already several stations reported casualties and the Admiral feared for the arrival of Heavy Raiders and its centurions boarding parties. At the rhythm at which the _Galactica_ was hit, Adama was not even sure that Athena will be able to complete her mission before it was too late for the Colonial's survival.

The ship rocked under the continuous assaults from the Basestars, but as of yet the DRADIS did not detect any launch of Nuclear ordnance on them. Admiral Adama had the sudden fear that the Cylons did not wish to destroy them in one strike, but maybe try to capture them. This theory suddenly imposed itself when he remembered one of commandments from the Cylon God that Athena told him about "God's wish is for us to multiply". The Cylons goal in this battle became clear: to restart their experiences done on Caprica with the surviving Colonials.

AS he was talking to Tigh about his theory, Lt Gaeta's DRADIS terminal flashed like a Light Bulb.

"Sir, 7 ships just appeared suddenly on DRADIS between us and the Cylons. DRADIS did not detect any Jump."

Tigh spun to face Gaeta and inspected his screen "What the frak now! Gods help us if the Cylons jumped more ships in this system!"

Keeping his cool as to limit the panic in his subordinates the Admiral started his own questions "IFF? Type? Give me details M. Gaeta!"

Still facing his DRADIS console, LT Gaeta answered his commanding officer with wonder in his voice " I do not detect any IFF sir. Whoever they are, they are not Colonials and from what I can tell sir, the 2 ship on the Edge are the equivalent size of the _Galactica_ and the central ship is at least twice the size of any Basestar or _Mercury _Class ship I have ever seen. This ship also appears to have 4 smaller ships as an escort group. But sir, the most important thing is that every ship in this Battle group, including the escorts, seems to generate at least 10 times more power than the _Galactica_!"

While the Admiral was inspecting the DRADIS readout Tigh barked at Kelly"Captain, try to contact them on the Wireless. We need to know if a new enemy as entered the scene or wherever these ships come from!"

Obeying the instructions from his superior officer, Kelly started listening on all frequencies for a channel to start his transmission "Admiral, I'm detecting a transmission coming from the central ship! It's in Colonial!"

Eyes wide, Adama shouted "On speaker M. Kelly!"

"…crrrcr ion. I repeat, to the Cylon Fleet: this is Admiral Delterre from the Terran Federation Ship (TFS) _General's Glory_, you are engaging in actions of war on Terran Federation territory. You are ordered to stop any and all operations and wait for further instructions. Any aggressive action will be seen as an act of war against the Terran Federation. I repeat…"

His remaining eye wide, Tigh did not mask his stupefaction «What the frak is this Terran Federation! Never heard of it in my life! And where the frak did they come from? They say this is their territory but we are beyond the red line, and they speak Colonial Standard! How is it possible?"

The gears in his head running at full speed Adama responded" I don't have the simplest idea but it seems that they want a cessation of hostilities and that at least is in our favor. We were about to get annihilated. For the moment our only chance of survival is to comply with whatever they ask us to. Captain Kelly, give me a line to this Admiral Delterre."

"Yes sir. You have the line."

"Admiral Delterre, this is Admiral William Adama from the Colonial Battlestar _Galactica_. We are ready to cease any and all hostile action, but we must protect our CIVILIAN fleet from our enemies. Please respond."

"Admiral Adama, we understand your situation. Be assured that your fleet is already under the protection of the 14th squadron and its lead command ship, the Heavy carrier TFS _Autumn's Equinox_. We invite you to take cover behind our ships. Delterre Out."

"XO, order the Vipers to disengage with the Raiders and to take position around the fleet. We will see the Cylon's reaction to this announcement. I hope those Terrans know what they are doing because if not this will take a very bad turn."

His headset still firmly on his head, Captain Kelly requested the Admiral's attention «Admiral, the Cylons are responding to the Terrans. On speakers"

"This is Brother Cavil, from the Cylon Fleet. To the Terran Federation, do not try to stop us from our divine mission, the human pest must be eliminated. If you intend to protect the Colonials, you will be terminated."

"This is Admiral Delterre of the Terran Federation Space Navy. Brother Cavil, you and your fellow Cylons are outclassed and outgunned. Do not presume that we will let you do any harm on the Colonial fleet. Furthermore the Terran Federation will not let its fellow humans in adversity if we can help them. You have been warned. Delterre out."

With hate in his voice at the mention of Humans Brother Cavil growled his response "So be it."

As soon as he said these words, 4 other Basestars Jumped as reinforcements, called by Brother Cavil the moment the TFSN (Terran Federation Space Navy) appeared between the 2 fleets. The Cylon Basestars started opening fire on the 14th Squadron, and more particularly the TFS _Autumn's Equinox. _

The first battle between the Terran Federation and the Cylons has begun.


	4. Chapter 3

The Fifth Race: Chapter 3 V2

**7 light years from the Ionian Nebula, Terran Federation's first battle against the Cylons.**

As the Cylons reinforcements appeared in front of the 14th squadron, they immediately began to open fire on the Terran Ships, hoping to destroy the Terrans in their first salvo. Their surprise was complete when none of the missiles they launched made contact. Almost 100 missiles were destroyed by the point defense laser system of the TFSN ships, well out of range of the shield which protected them.

Unknown to the Cylons, Rear Admiral Hitrakulos, the commanding officer of the 14th squadron, ordered all ships in his squadron to try to minimize the use of shielding technology so as to provide a strategic advantage in case of emergency and intimidation. Instead, the point defense lasers were set up to destroy all incoming ships and missiles from the Cylon Fleet before their contact with the shields.

His strategy was for the moment successful but the Admiral was still worried about the FTL capability of the Cylon Ships. They really didn't need for a Raider to suddenly appear inside their shield and be free to attack, even if Terran ships were made to sustain considerable damage.

The Terran Federation used an alloy of Trinium, Naquada and Carbon, created by the Asgard, that is still the most durable and solid alloy ever discovered, even by Ancients standard. The Ancients for their part used a Naquada alloy enhanced by the power grid from their ships. The Terrans combined the 2 in the construction of their ships which allowed them, even without shields, to survive multiple direct hits by Nuclear Weaponry.

Rear Admiral Hitrakulos turned toward Commander Mitarai, the commanding officer of the _Autumn's Equinox_ «Commander Mitarai, launch all _Arrows_ to take care of those Raiders. I don't want them to have a chance to harass the Colonials. From what the sensors detected some of them are even equipped with Nuclear Warheads. One of those in the middle of this fleet and the deaths will be measured in thousands!"

The _Arrows _were the space superiority fighters of the Terran Federation Space Navy. As their name suggested, they were shaped like a small arrow, able to fit through a Stargate for intergalactic travel if necessary and were a mono place fighter with a maximum speed of ½ the speed of light. Each fighter was equipped with basic shields, inertial dampeners and beaming technology adapted from the Wraith. They had a short range weapon capability, via the use of 4 lasers placed on their X shaped "wings".

Prepared for actions before they even jumped in hyper space, the _Arrow'_s Pilots were ready to be deployed at the order of the commander. In less than 5 minutes, the Heavy Carrier's contingent of 300 Arrows was deployed and started engaging the Raiders. While the Raiders were a formidable adversary, by colonial standard, and they outnumbered the Arrows by 4 times, the results of the engagement was clear in five minutes of fighting.

The Cylon Raider's traditional tactic was to disable its adversary by the deployment of a technological virus. Unfortunately for them, the _Arrows_ were completely impervious to viruses as all external access to their systems is encrypted with Asgard technology. Only Asgard AI and computers could access the _Arrow_'s system from without. Left with no possibility to randomly disabling their adversaries, the Raiders were forced in dogfights which were not their forte.

At the same time, that the _Autumn's Equinox_ started to launch its fighters, the Admiral ordered via the Squadron intercom for the Cruisers to launch active EM counter measures and for the Dreadnoughts _Pyrrhus Victory _and _Angelus Choir_, to prepare a tactical strike with their Heavy Laser Weapon. Their targets were the 2 Baseships situated at the edge of the Cylon Fleet.

The Dreadnoughts opened fire with their main ship to ship weapon, the Heavy Laser. Placed in the front of the ship, this weapon was an inspiration from the ORI war designed to destroy in one strike capital ships. While this weapon was powerful it was used only in a Capital Ship to Capital Ship Battle as its firing cadency was slow. In 2 seconds, 2 Basestars were dissected in 2, exploding afterwards and damaging their neighboring ships.

The battle had just begun but already the Cylons were rethinking their decision to attack.

**

* * *

Battlestar **_**Galactica**_**, CIC.**

Admiral William Adama was ready to sacrifice his life and that of all his crew in the hope to give enough time for the Remnant to flee their assured destruction. It was then understandable that he could not believe his eyes when he saw on his DRADIS console the might the Terran federation displayed in front of him.

At first, when the Cylon reinforcements jumped in system he was ready to order his Vipers to help them. But seeing the results of only 10 minutes of battle he reined himself in.

Never, in his entire career in the Colonial Army, did he ever see such power. A Basestar is, for the Colonial Army, an incredibly powerful ship of war that was only slightly equaled by the _Mercury_ type Battlestar. To see 2 of them be destroyed with a weapon he only thought existed in the wet dreams of scientists awed and terrified him at the same time.

Already the Raiders numbers were cut in half in the first 20 minutes of their engagement with the Terran Space Navy version of their Vipers. More so, The Terran's capital ships seemed to be left undamaged by the Cylon steady missile fire.

Without turning his head from the DRADIS console he addressed LT Gaeta"M. Gaeta, what can you tell me about their ships weapon from the description the Vipers gave, I have never seen such a thing!"

"Sir from what the Vipers described, it seems that they mastered the use of energy as a Weapon. The Colonial Defense tried to develop something similar but at a much smaller scale and the experiment was abandoned as the power requirements were so enormous that their implementation on ships was not possible. What we are seeing here should not be possible. I don't know what their ship's power source is but if they can power this thing, then one of their ships by comparison could power all of Caprica easily."

"Thank you M. Gaeta. Saul what do you make of this?"

"Bill I don't know what they want with us exactly, from their message to the Cylons they pretend to be Humans. Now I don't know you but according to the sacred Scrolls the only humans in the Galaxy are our brothers from the 13th tribe who traveled to Earth. We may have found the ones we were looking for without even having to go all the way to Earth. But what worries me more is that, if it is the 13th tribe, they seem to have lost all identity as a colony of Kobol."

"What gave you this idea?"

"Bill, they refer to themselves as the Terran Federation. Not the 13th colony of Kobol. But for the moment that is the last thing on my mind. What worries me more is the fact that our people are stuck here until Athena calculates the Jump coordinates."

Captain Kelly interrupted their quiet conversation «Admiral, Athena's Raptor advised me that her calculations are complete, the Fleet is starting to Jump."

"Finally. At least they will not be in immediate danger anymore."

Saul grunted and said in sotto voice "Considering how persistent the Cylons are to corner us, I hope they will be."

**

* * *

Lead Cylon Basestar, Command center.**

The Cylons were calling in all their available reinforcements within a 400 hundred light Years radius since the apparition of the Terran Federation Ships but so far only 2 basestars responded and jumped to their hail. They had already lost 2 Basestars, destroyed in one attack by a weapon like they had never seen before. More, the Raiders reported that the Terran's superiority fighters were too fast for them to engage in direct combat and their Wireless Virus did not work on their systems. Already the minds of 200 Raiders were stored in the Resurrection Ship killed by the Terrans and waiting to be uploaded into a new "body". But the analysis of the first minutes of the battle gave them some hint to a strategy.

While the Terrans's ships where very powerful, their main defensive technology appeared to be a defense network that destroyed their ship to ship missiles before they even entered their detonation range. This presented them with an opportunity, the Cylons plan was to jump several Raiders very close to the Terran Ship's hull with Nuclear Weaponry and detonate themselves. If they were to lose Raiders, at least they will do some damage doing so.

The Cavils, acting this time in consensus with the other lines, gave the orders to 25 Raiders to implement their plan. This time, the Terran Federation will discover the might of the Cylons.

**

* * *

Bridge, Heavy Carrier **_**Autumn's Equinox**_

Commander Miratai Takeru was using his command chair's neural interface to study the battle and transmit his orders to the actions stations of the ship. The Terran Command Chair is an evolution from the Ancient command chair that was used for defensive purposes on all Ancient technology, and installed in every bridge on Terran Federation Space Navy ship. While the ancient version of the command chair needed a considerable amount of concentration to operate, in addition to the ATA gene, the Terran version was networked with the Asgard conscience which enabled the Terran Officer operating it to conserve a level of external awareness.

Under orders from the Admiral, the point defense lasers were pushed to their maximum capabilities to destroy the incoming missiles from the Cylon Baseships. His cruisers escort group was under heavy fire and their Alteran drones were thankfully "swatting" Raiders and Heavy Raiders from Space while at the same time protecting the Colonials from the EM emissions given by the exploding Cylon nuclear Missiles.

As he was adjusting the position of his Ship so as to present a minimal "silhouette" to the incoming missiles the sensors detected a jump from the Raiders inside the perimeter of his shields, directly against the hull. The horror of the situation became apparent when one of the Raiders exploded in a ball of nuclear fire before the point defense laser could take the danger out.

Launching a squadron wide alert, he ordered the reduction of the perimeter of the shields to minimize the chance of damage for his ship. Thankfully, the ship's hull was capable of sustaining multiple successive hits from nuclear explosions, but not a combined explosion of multi Raiders.

Unfortunately for the Terran 14th squadron, even with their incredibly resistant ships, even, a Naquada – Trinium – Carbon alloy cannot withstand 4 Raiders exploding in a blast of nuclear fire at close contact. The Cruiser _Anatolia_ was hit directly and suffered heavy damages on its hull, disabling its hyperspace drive and shields.

Rear Admiral Hitrakulos realized here and there that it was time for the gloves to come off. He immediately gave orders to the Dreadnoughts and Cruisers to open fire at will on the Cylon ships. In a blast of laser fire and drone lights 3 Baseships were destroyed instantly and one severely damaged.

Their Resurrection Ship suddenly exposed to danger, the Cylons decided a retreat was necessary and were already plotting a jump to a safe post 300 light years away. As 2 more Basestars reinforcement finally arrived to render assistance to them, the Cylons decided a last shot at destroying the _Galactica _might be possible. The 2 new Basestars jumped directly behind the _Galactica_, out of range of the 14th squadron and in a direct line to attack the Colonials.

Fortunately, Admiral Delterre and his command team had foreseen the possibilities offered by the jump technology of the Cylons, in this case the possibility for the Cylons to use a pincer tactic to attack the Colonials from a blind spot. As the cylon Basestars appeared and automatically launched Nuclear missiles, Admiral Delterre's Super Dreadnought _General's glory_ and its escort group de-cloaked in front of them, hidden all along behind the colonials, effectively circling the Battlestar _Galactica _and providing them with a total range of protection.

The _General's Glory_ opened immediately fire with all its armament, not taking any chance this time. 1 Basestar was destroyed with the opening shot, the second jumping to security with the Resurrection Ship and its 2 remaining Basestars.

The calm of space finally restored, the TFS _Anatolia_ was free to dock in the hangar bay of the TFS _Autumn's Equinox_ to begin its repairs.

Now the hard part for any military man could be started: diplomacy. While every Officer of the Terran Federation Space Navy was trained in diplomacy and first contact situations, it was not their choice of predilection, nor the reason they entered the Space Navy. Thankfully for Admiral Delterre, it was now time for the Contact Office to do its job.


	5. Chapter 4

**The Fifth Race: Chapter 4 V2  
**

**TFSN **_**General's Glory**_**, Bridge.**

The battle was finished and the reports were coming in. The losses from the TFS _Anatolia _and the _Arrows_ Combat Group _Heracles_ while not high were still something that the Admiral did not foresee in his strategy against the Cylons. While he did take into account the FTL technology of the Cylons he did not thought that they would have been able to bypass their shields with it.

Terran Shields were a modification of the Asgard-designed shields with Ancient technology. The Ancients developed a very powerful shielding technology but it required such a massive power source, like ZPMs, that their use was very limited. The Asgard on the contrary were able to develop a shielding technology which while less powerful than the Ancients Shields consumed far less energy. The Terran modification permitted a shield as powerful as the Ancients ones but with a slightly more elevated power consumption than the Asgard ones, and easily adaptable on any Terran Ship.

But while the shields were powerful they did not adhere to the surface of the ship but instead made a protective bubble around the Terran Ship, the FTL drives of the Cylons was able to use that, without them even realizing the presence of shields. The raiders simply appeared inside the protective bubble bypassing every defensive measure of the Terrans Ships except for the point defense lasers which were sadly used as a primary defense network and not as a replacement for the shields.

The next item of importance was the start of the first contact talks with the Colonials. While the Terrans did save the Colonials from the Cylons, the protocols in case of first contact situations were quite clear and the Admiral had to pass the hand to the Contact Office of the 25th Fleet.

Already, thanks to the accumulated data from the battle and the discrete shadowing of the civilian fleet, the Contact Office already had an understanding of the Colonial Command structure and knew "who" to talk to. Admiral William Adama was for the moment the higher commanding officer until the return to the civilian fleet and the Colonial President, Laura Roslin and was therefore the one the Contact Office choose to open communication with.

"This is the TFS _General's Glory_ to Battlestar _Galactica_, please respond."

"_Glory_ this is _Galactica_ Actual, we are receiving you 5/5."

"I am Director Henrik Pedersen, from the Terran Federation Contact Office; I would like to talk to Admiral William Adama of the Colonial Fleet."

"This Admiral Adama, Director Pedersen, I would like first to thank you in the name of the 12th Colonies of Kobol for your assistance against the Cylon threat."

"Admiral, I can say, on behalf of the Terran Federation, that your thanks are not necessary. The Terran Federation's policy is to render assistance on any Human population without limits if the need arises. Now that the immediate threat has been neutralized, we would like to open talks and help you reunite with your Civilian fleet. We would like to arrange a meeting between you, Admiral Delterre as Commanding Officer of 25th Fleet, and me on your ship. Furthermore, we offer any assistance you may require for your ship."

"This would be greatly appreciated Director. I propose a meeting in 1 hour onboard _Galactica_. Is that good for you?"

"1 hour it is, Admiral. Pedersen Out"

With a meeting arranged, Henrik Pedersen prepared every documentation needed and contacted Admiral Delterre. The Contact Office onboard every Super-Dreadnought disposed of specially designed ships made for First Contact situations. These ships were equipped with powerful shields but no weapon whatsoever. They were of a length of 100 meter and could carry 50 passengers while generally ships of this size were capable of carrying 200 easily. The extra space was occupied by specially designed laboratories to test for maladies and prepare the ship for the first contact. In the past isolated populations were susceptible to foreign diseases and every precaution was taken to insure their health.

With the ship ready to start on its short journey, the first contact face to face between the Colonials and the Terran Federation was about to begin.

**

* * *

Battlestar **_**Galactica**_**, CIC.**

Captain Kelly, the officer in charge of the CIC, turned toward the intercom and selected the direct line to the Admiral's quarters "Admiral, The _General's Glory_ just informed us that the Contact Shuttle is on route, based on the size of their ship we will have to use the hangar's passageway to connect both ships."

The Admiral was already signaling his XO while he responded "Thank you M. Kelly, please make the necessary preparations." He hung up and addressed Tigh "XO prepare an honor guard; let's show them what the Colonials Forces are made of."

Nodding Saul Tigh turned to exit the quarters "You know Bill, it's lucky for you; you don't have to change since you already are in Dress uniform!"

Smiling at the banter with his best friend the Admiral gave his parting shot "Laugh all you want Saul, but you too have to change into this get up."

Grumbling under his breath the XO left the Quarters to prepare everything for the Terrans "Don't remind me."

The crewmen on the deck were in parade rest waiting for the Terrans to disembark from their shuttle, exited to see their saviors. The Admiral for his part was hoping that Saul's reasoning was right and that they were in fact their long lost brothers from the 13th tribe. He was most anxious to begin the talks with this Federation and more than ever wished that Laura Roslin was here with him. Sadly, until they could repair their FTL drive, any hope of rejoining with the Fleet had to be put on hold.

The airlock suddenly opened and 2 armed guards exited it doing a textbook salute then took flanking positions on either side of the airlock. Their uniform was a midnight blue color with a high collared vest and dark khaki pants inside mid calf boots. What appeared as their rank insignia was hitched on the side of their arms in 3 silver chevrons. They did not appear to wear any weapon but the look in their eyes told him everything he needed to know about them, they were professionals and were already assessing them.

The next man to exit the ship was middle aged, wearing a dark grey suit and holding a briefcase in his hands. He looked sharp and his eyes were already cataloguing everything in front of him. The moment his eyes met the Admiral he knew that this man was the director he talked to on the wireless.

Has the Director exited the ship, a man that couldn't be any other than Admiral Delterre appeared. He was a grey haired man, of approximately 50 years and wore a midnight blue uniform with a high collared vest and grey pants. The left side of his vest was half folded and showed a white turtleneck. His rank showed on his cufflinks in 7 gold bands and a gold star.

They descended the ramp; their gait purposeful yet not hurried and came in front of Admiral Adama.

The man the Admiral correctly identified as Director Pedersen nodded his head in greetings "Admiral Adama, I presume? I am Director Henrik Pedersen from the Terran Federation Contact Office. This is Fleet Admiral Delterre from the Terran Federation Space Navy."

Standing at attention Admiral Adama responded "You presume well M. Petersen. Allow me to present my Executive Officer, Colonel Saul Tigh and my FTL specialist, LT Felix Gaeta"

As the Admiral extended his hand to the Director he was surprised to see a green energy field surround the Director's hand when he tried to touch it. Shocked gasps were the response of every witness to this event and several people took a step back in fear while the marines on guard duty raised their weapons a little.

Lifting his hands at waist level the director of the contact office hurried to appease the situation "Do not be worried Admiral, each of us wear a personal shield that filters the air exchanged to and from us. This is a precaution taken to insure that the first contact situation does not allow the spreading of diseases from our people to you and vice versa. In our history, many first contact situations turned to the worst when the contact happened between civilizations isolated from each other.

Calming somewhat after his explanation, the meeting was transferred in _Galactica_'s conference room.

Escorting his guest toward the conference room, Adama discreetly inspected each of the newcomers and noticed the details characterizing them, like the firm stance of Admiral Delterre's back or the careful inspection in Director Petersen's eyes. Finally arriving in front of the room's airlock he invited everyone in and took his place at the central table.

"Admiral Delterre, I would like to thank you personally for your help against the Cylons. If not for your intervention we would not have had the time to Jump our civilian fleet to safety and my ship would have been destroyed by the Cylons. We are extremely grateful and hope that you did not suffer any casualties among your crew."

Sitting rigidly in his chair, almost like he was still at attention Admiral Delterre responded "Admiral Adama, as I said in my message to the Cylons, the Terran Federation is a protector of Human kind. We could not have left you in peril against hostile forces in our territory. You were not aware of it, but my fleet was monitoring the situation since your entry into the Milky Way Galaxy in the Ionian Nebula. Unknown to you, you were already under our protection."

His remaining eye wide at this revelation to the Terran's capabilities, Tigh asked "How were you able to monitor us when we did not detect any of your ships before?"

Shaking his head in wonder Lt Gaeta shared his thoughts "My DRADIS console never detected your presence until you appeared. I thought that you jumped in front of us."

Admiral Delterre just smiled mysteriously at the young LT "While I will not go into the details of our ships technology I will say that our ships are outfitted with the ability to cloak their presence from all sensors and visual detection."

Nodding at the Admiral's answer Adama couldn't help to rise his eyebrow at the brief answer which revealed no specifics but hinted the incredible technology level of their guests "Yes, as we saw in the battle earlier today, your ships capabilities far exceeded ours; from what M. Gaeta told me, the energy Weapon you used against the Cylons is something we thought was impossible due to the enormous energy requirements. That alone told us that the Cylon's defeat was assured today."

Admiral only nodded before replying "Yes Admiral, I can assure you that if we had wanted to, the Cylon fleet would have been annihilated before any of their weaponry attained their target. We were being cautious due to the presence of your civilian's ships in the middle of a battle and restrained ourselves until they completed their jump."

Grunting quietly Tigh voiced his thoughts "Well, I for one am happy that you showed them that they were not invincible as they thought they were."

Narrowing his eyes, Adama re centered the conversation "Which brings me to my question, who are you? We never heard of a Terran Federation before and the same can be said for the Cylons I think."

Director Pedersen stopped Admiral Delterre before he could answer "Allow me to respond Admiral Delterre; this is after all my field. Admiral Adama, the Terran Federation is a very complex society and dispose of advanced technologies. Its purpose is to defend and represent the human population and worlds of this galaxy and facilitate a common improvement. For too long, we Humans were denied our place as a force to be reckoned with."

Nodding The Colonial Admiral asked "Can you be more specific Director?"

Assembling his thoughts for the longer explanation, Director Pedersen began "I think Admiral that we will begin with a little bit of history. The Terran Federation was established in 2016 AD, as a reference we are now in 2125 AD in our calendar, and spanned 8 Worlds. As of now, the Terran Federation is composed of 87 full member worlds and 12 provisionary member worlds for a combined population of approximately 40 Billions. But for you to understand the situation at large in our galaxy I have to go in more detail. 10 000 years ago, while the Terrans were still an uncivilized group, a race of aliens discovered our home planet. They were a race of parasitic species that used host to live. When they discovered the human population they used us as hosts, soldiers and slaves, masquerading as Gods with their technology. For them, the human species represented a very handy resource as a human being was easy to fix and engineer with their technology. They used us as a work force on different planets and transplanted human populations across the Galaxy. Finally the humans of our Home world rebelled, chased them out and we never heard of them for Ten Millennia.

All of this changed when we re-discovered an artifact, a piece of technology named the Stargate in 1997 AD. This device allowed instantaneous travel between worlds in our galaxy and was responsible for the dissemination of the Human Race as the dominant species. Thanks to that we encountered many allies and developed technologies to help fight against the enemies we made, most prominently the False Gods, the Goa'uld. We finally defeated them and build our Federation with the freed human's worlds of the Galaxy."

Frowning in thought, Adama voiced his doubts "Director, from our sacred scrolls, we learned that the birthplace of humanity was Kobol. Are you telling us that we, also, are one of the transplanted humans from your Home world?"

Almost wincing at the tone of the question, Pedersen answered carefully "No Admiral, let me reassure you. While the Goa'ulds were responsible for spreading Humans in our Galaxy, we found evidence that others advanced societies were responsible, as a way of protecting them, for the relocation of some of our ancestors. While we do not want to debase your sacred scrolls we do have our theories. But this is not a discussion for now. What I think is the most important for the moment is to help you rejoin your fleet. Can your FTL drives be repaired?"

Keeping his tone neutral Adama turned toward Gaeta "You are right; I will let the president debate all she wants with you about the sacred scrolls. M. Gaeta please answer Director Pedersen."

Examining the papers in front of him one last time, Gaeta gave his report "Yes sir. Currently our FTL drives are dead, one of the Cylon saboteurs used an EMP pulse specifically designed to take out our FTL capabilities. It completely wiped out our Star maps and coordinates. The navigational software is dead and the computer is completely fried but more shocking is that the pulse corroded the FTL coils. We might be able to replace the navigational computer but without the FTL coils it would not be of any use to us."

Grasping the situation Admiral Delterre quickly gave a viable option "Very well. If you have no objection Admiral I would like to send some of the engineers onboard my shuttle to see what they can do, no offense LT Gaeta, and in the mean time I propose the use of a gravitational beam to tract you with us in hyper space."

The colonial Officers gave each other a look until Admiral Adama asked the question on their mind "What is a Gravitational Beam?"

Admiral Delterre just smiled and gave a reduced response "It's a condensed gravitational force that will attract your ship to us, like a cable so that we can tract you behind us. Your ship will then be enveloped in the hyper space field and we could rejoin your fleet."

Adama nodded and addressed his men "From what you tell me it is apparently the only way that the Galactica will rejoin the fleet. I will tell my CIC to be ready to coordinate everything with your Bridge."

Delterre stood up and nodded to each Colonial Officer "Well gentlemen, I will proceed to my ship to prepare the jump. M. Pedersen will be our spoke person and liaison. Good day."

With the Admiral leaving the conference table, the _Galactica'_s command crew re-centered the conversation on Director Petersen.

Adama organized his thoughts for a moment before re launching the subject"I am amazed to learn of such a large human population in another galaxy. We thought that the 12th colonies of Kobol and their Brethren of the 13th tribe were the only humans in existence. Our 12th Colonies were attacked by our enemies, the Cylons, 3 years ago and believed ourselves to be the last remnants of civilization. We were searching for the 13th colony of Kobol; a planet named Earth, but we were not expecting to find them as it was a myth from our sacred scrolls. I used this myth to preserve hope and morale in our fleet but with your arrival we finally have something concrete to help us."

Startled at hearing that Director Pedersen stared intensely at the Admiral "You were looking for Earth?"

Seeing such an intense look appearing on the face of the Director, the colonial officers gave each other a look "Yes. It was our last hope."

Sighing, and wondering in his head how Earth was able to appear in so many legends, Pedersen gave them the response they hoped for "Then I am happy to tell you admiral that you have found Earth as it is the Home world of humanity and Capital of the Terran Federation."

With this bombshell, Admiral Adama stood shocked and connected his eyes with those of Saul Tigh, the relief literally bleeding out of him. Finally after 3 years of running and hardship, they found them or more specifically the Terrans found them.

This chance encounter was something they never expected and the confirmation of what they theorized was liberating. They were not alone in the universe anymore.

Almost stammering in excitement Gaeta spoke without even consulting his Superior Officer "You are the 13th colony. We were looking for you and hoped that you existed but except some ancient artifacts we found on Kobol we had no proof. We only knew that Earth was a planet from where you could see 12 constellations, representing the colonies of Kobol and we used clues from our sacred texts to trace a route to Earth."

Smiling quietly at the young Lieutenant, Director Pedersen looked almost amused when he responded "12 constellations you say? I think that I can give here and there a confirmation for you. From Earth you can, obviously see many star constellations, but only 1 set of constellations is grouped in 12, the zodiac signs from Aries to Pisces."

Falling down on his chair Adama breathed out "This is all the confirmation we needed, Aries and Pisces were the ancient names of our colonies Aerelon and Picon."

Pedersen only nodded "Now that we established that, I would like to ask you what where your intentions in finding Earth? As a representative of the federal Government I can safely say that your provisional acceptation as a member world of the Federation would be accepted if you wished for it."

Adama was only too eager to reply "We wish to require asylum in the Terran Federation, our worlds are dead, nuked from orbit by the Cylons and our population, all 20 billion of them, were killed in the attack. Our fleet of 38 000 is the only remnant of the 12 colonies. Everyone else is dead or presumed dead as our worlds are not capable to host life anymore due to radiation poisoning in the atmosphere."

This kind of information quickly sobered Pedersen up "I cannot imagine what your people have been through, but be assured that the Terran Federation is ready to grant you asylum. The form in itself of this asylum will be of your choosing. We have much to offer as you do also and the entry into the Federation will be easier for you."

Tigh was the first to be wary of a deal too good to be true "Why is that, director?"

Pedersen clearly heard the suspicion in Tigh voice and hurried to explain "The Terran Federation learned the lessons from our predecessors. A strict policy of non-interference, necessary to permit the natural development of less advanced societies, was instituted. In effect, adherence to the Terran Federation is subjected to 2 criteria which decide the status of the civilization. If the Civilization is aware of the Stargate, use it and understand its function, or if the civilization achieved FTL travel method, then contact is established with an active protection of the civilization from outside sources. When the Technological level of the society reaches pre-Stargate Earth levels, then provisional membership status is proposed, with a full membership after 10 years probation."

Leaning forward Tigh followed his original question "What are the particularities of each status?"

Pedersen quickly explained each status "Contact Status offers a discrete planetary protection via the deployment of defense satellites in orbit, an exchange in culture and histories with the establishment of an embassy. Provisional membership adds to the contact status open access to Terran territory and economic markets on both sides and the availability of Terran Technologies, locked against copy and study. Military technology is not included. Finally, the full membership status integrates the society within the Terran Federation with a full disclosure of technologies. Each status is on request only and every civilization is free to reject our offers if they want to. The freedom of choice is something very important for the Federation."

Adama just nodded "From what you're telling me, the 12 colonies of Kobol will definitely ask for Provisional membership but I want to know where exactly my people will be able to settle. Will we be able to live on Earth?"

Pedersen, seeing the hopeful look in Adama's eyes could only offer all his knowledge "The choice is yours, but we feel obligated to offer alternative choices more beneficial for your people as a whole since the colonies have a very strong culture. While integration into Earth's Population is possible we have observed in the past that after a time the specific populations lose little by little their original identities due to the overwhelming immersion in Earth's Culture. The alternative we can propose you is to help you colonize a new world in this galaxy. This galaxy is composed of many habitable worlds terra formed millennia ago by an extremely advanced race named the Alterans. As such, there are hundreds of worlds from which you can choose and settle on."

The colonials were astonished to discover this option. During their journey, they encountered only one inhabitable world, New Caprica. That the Terra formation of planets was at all possible was a level of technology they did not even imagine.

Adama still appeared hesitant "Your proposition as merit but a year ago, my people, tired from the constant running, decided to settle on a planet inside a corona, thinking we were protected and that the Cylons could not find us. But they did and occupied the planet. We were able to escape but lost 10 000 of our compatriots in this endeavor. Trying that experience again will not appeal to my people for fear of the Cylons."

Trying to appease the Admiral, Pedersen explained the security measures available to them "Admiral I understand your reluctance but I assure you that the planet in which you could settle would be protected by the Terran Federation Defense System. The first line is the Terran Defense Satellites, a network of 38 Satellites placed in geosynchronous orbit. Every satellite is equipped with a plasma laser, capable of easily destroying a _Basestar_ class ship, and shielding technology able to resist direct nuclear fire. Furthermore their sensors system can detect any incoming ship from a distance of 10 000 Light years. The second line is outfitted on every planet in the Federation. Two Stargates are installed, planet side and Space side for planetary evacuation and _Arrow_ (our Space superiority Fighters) deployment. We have taken every available measure to safeguard civilian population from external danger. I hope this clarification can help you make an informed decision for your people."

Adama looked relieved after hearing the details "Yes thank you. I will forward all the information you have given me to the president when we reunite with the fleet."

Nodding, Pedersen reached into his suitcase "For further information I have prepared for you several documents: first the Terran Federal constitution and its book of laws so that you are aware of our legal system, second a comprehensive history of the Milky Way Galaxy with details on the member worlds of the Federation and finally this is a list of resources available on 25th fleet that can be distributed to your population at your demand. Please be aware that every aid given to you by the Terran Federation is free of charge and that no repayment will ever be asked of you."

Taking everything from the Director Adama signaled for one of the crew "Thank you m. Pedersen. I will have a Crewman deliver to you some of our available documentation as well: The book of Laws of the Colonies, the History of the Colonies and finally the Sacred Scrolls. Do you need anything else?"

Standing up, Pedersen prepared to leave the room "Yes Admiral, I would like the cooperation of your chief medical officer. It is a matter of urgency that we begin immediately the analysis of the Colonial immune system as to evaluate the risks, if any, to your population to common diseases on this Galaxy."

Tigh stood up to escort the director "I will have our Chief Medical Officer, Dr Cottle, pay you a visit in your quarters."

Henrik Petersen was then led to his cabin onboard _Galactica_ where he could begin his study of the Colonies. Less than an hour into his reading, the intercom system announced the jump to the Fleet's Coordinates.

As the 25th fleet jumped into hyper space, tracting the Battlestar _Galactica_ behind them, the Colonial's heartbeat climbed steadily with the eagerness of being reunited with a fleet they thought they'd never see again.

* * *

Ranks in the Terran Federation Space Navy:

1 silver chevron: Crewman

2 silver chevrons: Senior Crewman

3 silver chevrons: Master Crewman

4 silver chevrons: Chief Master Crewman

1 gold chevron: Petty Officer

2 gold chevrons: Chief Petty Officer

3 gold chevrons: Master Chief Petty Officer

1 gold band: Ensign

2 gold bands: Lieutenant

3 gold bands: Captain

4 gold bands: Lieutenant Commander (Ship XO)

5 gold bands: Commander (Ship CO)

6 gold bands: Rear Admiral (Squadron CO)

7 gold bands: Admiral (Space Station CO)

7 gold bands + gold star: Fleet Admiral (Fleet CO)

**Terran Laser Weapon:** The Terran Laser Weapon is adapted from the ORI ships encountered during the war. It is a high velocity energy weapon capable of punching through both shields and hull at the same time by sheer brute force. It is designed to destroy a ship in one hit.


	6. Chapter 5

**Review responses:**

To Evan Vave: While the size of 1 km by 1 km seems small for a crew capacity of 7 000 thousands when you compare it to the enterprise in Star Trek, you forgot that the Super-dreadnought class ships has a central structure made of tall towers made to provide living quarters for the crew and its families. Furthermore if I compare it to actual heavy carrier like the new USS Gerald Ford (333 Meters by 41 meters capacity of 5 000 personnel) the super dreadnought is a giant. About the power generator from the second season of Stargate: the power requirements to make a stable wormhole to another galaxy are enormous. While it's true that the power generator was never called a ZPM in the series, my theory is that this generator was not a true ZPM but a one use only kind of ZPM. The Asgard never developed ZPM but they had Neutrino Ion generators that provide as much power as a ZPM, the truly advancement made by the Ancients is that a ZPM is very small while the Neutrino Ion generators are fairly big.

Author Note: I will soon start my final exams at the end of May and the next update will certainly not be before the end of May.

I hope you all like this chapter and am still looking for a Beta, if anyone is interested please send me an E mail via .

Thank you and good reading!

On with the Story.

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_**, before the jump in hyper space, Admiral Adama's quarters.**

The officers of the _Galactica_ were having a meeting presided by Adama to fully brief the President, Laura Roslin. The theories as to the technical capabilities of the Terran Federation were flying back and forth with Lt Gaeta as the principal technical advisor and for the moment incredulity was the norm. The study from the DRADIS sensors where displayed in front of them, taken while they were ambushed by the Cylons and their subsequent rescue by the Terrans, and the information they gathered was astounding. From what they could see, the Terrans ships were able to destroy several Basestars in one shot, something the colonials never thought possible. While nuclear missiles were able to inflict damages against Basestars, particularly if they detonated from the inside, no weaponry they knew was capable of doing so in one shoot. Moreover, from the radio shatter from their Vipers during the engagement against the Raiders, the Superior combat fighters they called Arrows used lasers in lieu of rail guns as ordnance in their fight. Lasers were, according to LT Gaeta, researched by the department of defense of Caprica before the fall. They were able to create a prototype but not usable for a military application. They discovered that the power requirement to use such weaponry were far above what the colonial ships were capable of generating on their own. That the Terran fighters had the energy capabilities to use them as an all purpose weapon demonstrated more than anything their technological level.

Their FTL drive for example was completely different than their own drive. Apparently, instead of folding space around the ship like their FTL drives did, the Terrans FTL drive opened a hole to a sub dimension they called hyper space were the ship traveled, cutting down the distances. From what LT 

Gaeta told them, while their method of FTL was more practical for short range travel, the Terran FTL gave them the ability to travel very long distances in one jump with great speed.

Unfortunately for the Admiral, although Felix Gaeta was a knowledgeable man, he was not a real scientist and his theories were limited. For example, the shielding technology used by the Terrans as a bio suit intended for a filtration use against biological contaminations simply baffled him. Just the idea that this kind of technology could exist, let alone be used as a replacement for a bio hazard suit, was way out of his league. Even if the idea repulsed him and the other superior officers of the Galactica, he knew they needed Gaius Baltar to help them understand the Terran technology. While Baltar was someone they all hated, he was without a doubt the genius he claimed to be and his work as a defense consultant in the colonies placed him in the best position to comprehend the technological gap between Cylons, Colonials and Terrans. The problem was trying to locate him now that he was free of the charges leveled against him by the government. From what they understood, a cultist group believed him to be some kind of prophet from the gods and was sheltering him on Galactica. While finding said group on the Galactica would be easy, convincing Baltar to come to their aid would be the hard part.

The study of the legal texts from the Terran federation gave them a clearer picture of the Terrans. As Director Petersen told them the choices available to them for settlement inside the Terran Federation Territory were few but very profitable, not only would they be protected from the Cylons but their population, culture and beliefs would survive and could thrive. And what protection they offered! If this was the standard defense system deployed to protect a planet then Adama was ready to give his blessings to the settlement on a planet unlike New Caprica.

But to get a more complete overview of the Terrans they needed the assistance of Gaius Baltar which the President was sure to object to. One thing was sure the Admiral was not ready to open this can of worms as he still remembered her reaction to his decision to acquit Baltar.

The PA system hummed with LT Dee Adama on the line"Admiral, the _General's Glory_ just informed us that we will exit hyper space in 10 minutes."

"Thank you LT, we are on our way. Send someone to escort Director Petersen to the CIC. " replied the Admiral. He turned toward the other officers and told them to rejoin him on CIC after compiling all the information they had.

* * *

**Battle Star **_**Galactica**_**, CIC, 10 minutes later**.

Felix Gaeta was at DRADIS station analyzing the data collected by the sensors "Admiral we are emerging from hyper space, DRADIS is online and searching for our civilian fleet. DRADIS is detecting several spacecrafts, maybe the Viper escorts. DRADIS is unable to detect the Terran Ships, they emerged with us from the hyper space window but disappeared from DRADIS soon after."

"What is the meaning of this Mr. ¨Petersen?" Asked William Adama.

"Do not be worried Admiral. It is standard procedure in contact situation for the Terran ships to cloak themselves so as to make as little a commotion as possible on your fleet. Imagine what their reaction would be if your ship appeared in the middle of unknown ships. At best they will be suspicious of Cylon activity; at worst they will open fire before asking questions. I don't think either solution is 

ideal for a peaceful meeting. Before we uncloak our ships we will wait for you to explain the situation to them." Responded Petersen.

"I see your reasoning but an advance warning from Admiral Delterre would have been nice." Replied Adama.

Director Pedersen seemed kind of contrite as he gave is response "I'm sorry Admiral, it was my responsibility to keep you informed but my communicator seems to be running into some interference. Be assured that it will not happen again."

Satisfied by his answer, the Admiral gave the order to begin a search pattern for the fleet. As they were making preparations they received a hail from the _General's Glory_.

"Sir, we are receiving a communication from the General's Glory, their sensors detected the fleet, and they are transmitting the coordinates right now." Said Gaeta.

"Helm, bring us to them." Turning towards the XO he asked in a quiet voice: "Saul, I need you to take some marines and bring me Baltar. I hate to say it; we may need his expertise soon."

"Very well Bill but I don't like it."

Leaving the CIC the XO couldn't help but think that he was going to make a deal with the devil.

Getting the Admiral's attention, LT Gaeta announced a DRADIS contact.

"Sir, DRADIS has detected our fleet, several Vipers and Raptors are coming to intercept us, we are receiving a hail from them, its APPOLO!"

"Put him through Mr. Gaeta. APPOLO can you hear me?"

"Dad, is that you? I thought you and the _Galactica_ were gone, your FTL drive was too damaged to jump!"

"We thought so too, son. Have your Vipers land in the hangar bay." Turning to Dee he asked her to contact _Colonial One_.

"Madame President, this is _Galactica_ Actual, can you hear me?"

"Yes Admiral, it's good to hear your voice. What happened? We thought the _Galactica_ was destroyed?"

"I know but you will be happy to know we had help. From Earth. I just send a Raptor to bring you aboard, everything will be explained."

"I see. I look forward to this Admiral."

Finally reunited with his people the Admiral allowed himself to relax. Just one more step and their run across the galaxy would come to an end.

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_**, Admiral's quarters, 4 hours later.**

After explaining their situation to the President, the presentations were made between Director Petersen and Laura Roslin and the talks began.

"Mr. Pedersen, the Admiral explained to me the different options available to us for settlement and as the Admiral suggested, I think the preferable option for us would be to colonize a planet under the protection of the Terran Federation and request membership status in the Federation. But while this seems to me like the more preferable solution, the decision would have to be made by a vote of the Quorum of Twelve, our legislative body. What will be the deciding point, I think, is that currently our people are deeply afraid of the Cylon threat but the Admiral assures me that you possess the means and technology to defend us from that threat?"

"Yes Mme President. While your fleet does not see it, for now, you are under the protection of the 25th Fleet and its cloaked ships. Furthermore, the planet you will choose to resettle will be protected by defense satellites powerful enough to destroy a Cylon fleet. If nothing else, the protection of your people is guaranteed."

"Are you telling me that right now our ships are surrounded by the Terran Federation Navy Ships? How is it possible?"

The Admiral placed a comforting hand on her arm and responded to her "To help us attenuate the shock the Terran Federation's arrival will make, Admiral Delterre decided to cloak his fleet. The plan was for you to present it in a press conference to prevent a mass panic from the ships captains."

"I understand thank you Admiral."

Seeing that the situation was under control Pedersen continued the meeting "Mme. President; my proposition is for you to present your request of membership directly to the President of the Terran federation on Earth. I transmitted the details of our previous meetings to my government and they proposed a direct meeting face to face on Earth with, for you, the possibility to see Earth for the first time and to ascertain for your people that we are from Earth."

"That would be really helpful Mr. Pedersen but I have to warn you that many of our people have very set ideas of what Earth is. For us, Earth represents our long lost Brothers and Sisters of the 13th colony. Since the destruction of the colonies and the start of this quest to find you there was a resurgence of faith among our people. Because of this I must warn you that some of my people may show reluctance in trusting you when they realize that our histories about mankind are quite divergent. Some colonies are even considered backwards and too traditionalists by some and will be very virulent in their reactions."

"Mme President, from my perspective this is a matter of internal security and policy. The Terran Federation will not interfere in the running of your government except in case of emergency or if you request it. Now I understand that your fleet is in need of basics necessities. Our ships have great manufacturing capabilities and as soon as you need it we will begin the transport of food, medicine, doctors and any equipment you might need. As the Admiral probably told you, with the assistance of your Chief Medical Officer who gave us samples of your crew's blood and a history of maladies found on your colonies, we were able to make sure that no Illnesses could be spread between our people. This is why I do not talk to you through a personal shield like our first meeting with Admiral Adama."

"Thank you, Mr. Pedersen." The director left the meeting allowing the President and her Cabinet to discuss things between them.

The President closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Opening her eyes and focusing entirely on Adama she asked him the most important question on her mind "Are you absolutely sure this isn't another Cylon trick? Can we really have faith in what they say, Bill?"

Seeing the expression of hope on her face, Bill responded quietly "Yes I am sure. If the Cylon had that kind of capabilities, they wouldn't have needed to infiltrate us like they did. The 25th fleet itself could have destroyed the entirety of the colonial Fleet. We are at the end of our journey."

Letting tears roll on her face, Laura Roslin smiled at him and responded "Then you know what will happen. If I am the Dying leader, then I will not live to see Earth. At least our people are safe, finally."

She turned toward one of her assistants and asked him to convene a special meeting of the Quorum and a press conference at the end of it. As the Assistant left, she turned to face Lee Adama " Mr. Adama from what your father told me of your reunion from before, you have refused to re take your commission as a colonial fleet officer?".

Standing tall in a marine blue suit, Lee Adama nodded his head to the President and responded to her query "Yes Mme President, my father proposed to give me back my position in the Colonial Fleet but I refused it. It has been quite some time that my doubts in the system have interfered with my duties as a colonial officer, the Baltar trial was only the trigger."

"Very well then I have a proposition for you Mr. Adama. As you now, since the end of the Baltar Trial the Caprican Seat on the Quorum of twelve as been vacant, I would like you to become the new Representative of Caprica on the Quorum."

"Thank you Mme President, I will accept the position on the Quorum. But I want you to understand that even if you are offering me the position, I will still make decision for the benefit of the Colonies."

"If I thought otherwise Lee, I would not have offered the position to you."

Representative Adama of the Quorum of Twelve took his leave to rejoin the meeting, while the President prepared to sell her soul to the devil. "I think it's time, let Baltar enter."

Gaius Baltar was considered by many a genius but cowardly man, a traitor for almost all colonials. He was unfortunately also their only true scientist, a specialist of military technology for the department of defense.

As he entered the room, the President greeted him "Hello Gaius, seems that you managed to survive being released into the Fleet?"

"Why yes, thanks to people that believe in me, I managed to do just that. But apparently the fact that I was declared free did not reach some of your crew members. Now why did you have me summoned, I don't think my opinion is something you are in need since my trial."

Adama choose to enter the conversation "Dr. Baltar you are a specialist in military technology, tell me is it possible for a _Columbia_ class Battlestar to survive against four Basestars without FTL drive?"

"A Battlestar like the _Galactica_, even if fully crewed, armed and with a full contingent of Vipers and Raptors could maybe hold out against two Basestars and destroy one but against four it is not possible. A Battlestar without a FTL drive would not have escaped such a crushing force and would have been destroyed. Why? Since the _Galactica_ was able to escape the Cylon Fleet, our FTL drive must be working."

"On the contrary, Dr. Baltar we were crushed, our FTL drive destroyed by a Cylon agent and against four Basestars. We had no hope of surviving and I ordered the Fleet to jump with the Vipers and Raptors."

An astonished, and as white as chalk Baltar blurted a surprised "What!?"

Fixing him with a hard stare the Admiral responded "Yes Mr. Baltar, we were saved by the very people we were looking for: Earth."

"Earth, are you telling me the 13th colony send ships to help us?"

"Not exactly no. The 13th colony does not exist as we know it; they call themselves the Terran Federation and are far more powerful than the Colonies or Cylons were combined."

The incredulity in Baltar's eyes changed to a calculating look as he hummed in thought. Coming out of his thoughts he asked the Admiral "And this is why you lowered yourselves to ask for me. You need my expertise."

"Unfortunately, yes. The capabilities of the Terrans are out of our comprehension and while Mr. Gaeta can extrapolate from our observations and DRADIS readings, he is not a scientist."

"I see, well I am willing to offer my help but at certain conditions. Do not be worried I am not asking for something extravagant. I have only two request, a protective detail for me and my people against any retribution from the crew and that you allow me to ask asylum in this Federation for me and my people or if that is unsuccessful then a ship for us to make our own way."

Looking each other in the eye, the President and the Admiral made the decision to allow his request as either way they would be rid of him and his followers.

"Very well Dr. Baltar, we are leaving you with all our information and your old lab. Be ready to give a report to the Quorum of twelve in the Afternoon."

As Baltar left for his lab, the President and the Admiral started preparing the meeting with the Quorum, hoping that further surprises would not present themselves.

* * *

_**Colonial One**_**, Quorum of Twelve conference room, later that same day.**

The Quorum of Twelve that represented each of the twelve colonies was assembled in front of the President, ready to begin the meeting. Their eyes kept shooting distrustful looks on the form of Gaius Baltar standing to the side of the President's chair and each of them was wondering what a traitor like him was doing in an official meeting. Every one jumped to their feet when the President entered the room followed by Admiral William Adama.

"Hello everyone, please be seated so that we can begin the meeting. I would like to welcome among us Lee Adama, the new Quorum representative for Caprica." Said the President.

"Let's begin; many among you were wondering how the _Galactica_ survived her fight against the Cylon Fleet that attacked us. The fact is that the Admiral was fully aware of the risks his ship encountered and did not presume to survive the battle. This prediction would have come true if not for the timely intervention of our saviors, none other than the people of Earth."

As she dropped her bombshell on the Quorum, she did not expect the shocked silence that resulted as every Quorum representative bar Lee Adama looked at her like she was crazy. She decided to continue, despite their reactions.

"I know this is clearly unexpected but it is true. While on our way to find Earth, it is them that found us first and rendered assistance on our ships and saved them from assured destruction from the Cylons. I already spoke to their envoy aboard Galactica and they present us with many opportunities and we are needed, as spokespersons for our people, to make the best decision."

Finally regaining control of their mouth, the representatives started asking questions right and left without order. Re-taking control of the situation, the President gave the floor to the councilor for Gemenon. "Mme President, are you confirming that these people are the 13th tribe of men that left Kobol 4 000 years ago?"

"Unfortunately I can't confirm this. Their envoy gave me an extended History of Earth and nowhere in their history is there mention of Kobol. As of right now I prefer to leave this aspect of Earth at the side. I think for us the more important part about Earth is that it's the capital of the Terran Federation, a government representing hundreds of planets occupying a large part of this Galaxy and one of its major powers. Furthermore the Terran Federation is a very advanced society, more advanced than the colonies ever were and to bring to light some of their technology I will let Dr. Gaius Baltar respond. He is here as the only scientist and specialist in military technology we have. Dr. Baltar?"

"Thank you Mme President. Many among you do not wish to see me and do not respect me. But if there is one thing that not one of you can deny is that I am still the more knowledgeable man in military technology in this fleet." Seeing no denying of this fact from the Quorum he continued on his briefing. "From the study of the battle witnessed between the Cylons and the Terran federation space Navy by the Galactica, I prepared an analysis of the capabilities of the Terran Navy. The result is as follows: the Cylons better admit defeat or they will be annihilated."

As he finished his sentence, every member of the Quorum looked incredulously at him.

"Let me explain myself: first, their weapons system is entirely based on energy emissions, meaning that there is no projectile only base energy, which is nearly infinite from the power readings we measured during the battle. From what we measured the biggest of their ships could provide enough energy to a planet like Caprica for decades, and that is my lowest estimation."

At this Lee Adama interrupted him"Are you sure? The _Galactica_ does not even make 1/10 000th of your estimation!"

Seeing the incredulous looks in the Quorum representative's eyes he responded "Yes M. Adama I am quite sure of my estimations. And frankly I wouldn't be surprised to discover that my estimation is on the low side. Now if I can continue? Second point: their FTL drive, while compared to ours it does not provide them instantaneous transportation by folding space, their drive have a range and speed that far exceed ours. For example they could probably do the jump from here to the colonies in just about 3 to 4 hours of travel in hyper space. While the Cylons have the advantage in the short range, this is nullified by my third point."

As the enquiring looks were beginning and in the grand standing that everyone was accustomed from Gaius Baltar he plunged on "My third point is I think the most important: the Terrans have demonstrated their ability to use shielding technology when Admiral Adama encountered them. They used their personal shields as a filtering system that encompassed their whole body. While energy shields were theorized by the scientific researchers in the colonies it was always thought that any kind of energy shield, even for a really small area, would require such a massive amount of energy that it was way beyond the capabilities of the Colonies. The fact that they can demonstrate the use of shields on a person is proof that they mastered their use. Which brings me to the most important point: their ships are also equipped of such a technology and are virtually impervious to any exterior attack on their ships except by the use of energy weapons."

As the shock wore off on the Quorum members' faces, the questions started to appear like bullets in a gunfight. From the fear of being the next target of a race they didn't know to the hope of one day using this same technology, all their questions were halted by the sound of the Admiral's shoot to quiet down. The Admiral then turned toward Baltar and asked one question that escaped the representative's attention "If they have shields that are able to protect them from exterior harm, why did they not use it against the Cylons, one of their ships was after all damaged during the attack?"

"That is a question I don't have an answer to, but they may not have taken into account the ability of ships the size of a Raider to jump inside their shields, since their own equivalent fighters do not appear to have the ability or maybe they decided to use them as a tactical advantage later on, who knows? I am not a military man and my opinion was asked on their technological capabilities, not their Strategies, this is your domain, Admiral."

The President took the reins of the meeting to present the options presented by the Terran Federation "During my meeting with Mr. Pedersen, their Director of the Contact Office onboard the _General's Glory_, we outlined the more profitable possibilities for our people. The one we found the best is the following: the 12 colonies of Kobol request a provisional membership status and a planet to settle into the Federation. This allows us to be under the direct protection of the Federation while at the same time allowing us to conserve our cultural autonomy and profit from the technological advancements from the Federation. After a period of 10 years the provisional membership will be turned into a full membership with a full disclosure of technology."

Asking for the permission to speak, the representative for Picon stood up to address the President "Mme President I would like to know how our security will be assured by the Federation, we certainly don't want a repeat of New Caprica. I would also like to know where the Terran Fleet that saved the _Galactica_ is. Surely they did not disappear?"

The admiral chooses to respond to the second question first «The Terran Fleet is currently still guarding us. They have the capability to cloak their ships from view and sensors and used that capability so as to avoid a panic with the appearance of their ships. They are waiting for our announcement of them to the Fleet to de-cloak."

Giving the hand to Baltar, the man in question rose to address the situation "From the description of the defense system placed on any world we would choose to settle, I can only say that it is the most extensive system I ever saw: a system of defense satellites capable to destroy Basestars from orbit and to detect any incoming ships thousands of light years ahead, and a Stargate, apparently a mean of transportation, that will be able to transport our people to safety in case of failure from the Satellite defense network. Frankly, if this doesn't dissuade the Cylons from attacking, nothing will!"

Reassured on that point, the Representative for Picon sat down as the Representative for Caprica, Lee Adama rose to speak.

"Mme President, I propose to vote right now on this issue. While we could debate for hours about the Federation and its technology, our people are in dire need of help and as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers. I vote for Caprica, YES, for the provisional Membership."

One by one the Representatives voted and for once in a long time the results were unambiguous. The President was free to present their request to the Terran Federation.

* * *

_**Colonial One**_**, Press conference, 2 hours later.**

After conferring with Director Petersen and preparing for the de cloaking of the Federation Navy Fleet, the entire Quorum and the President were ready to announce the news to the colonial Fleet. The President had ordered a cessation of work for one hour and a wide fleet announcement of a very important news conference.

"My fellow colonials, after the destruction of the colonies 4 years ago we were desperate for a mean to survive and started our quest to rejoin our brothers of the 13th colony, Earth. We braved many dangers and lost many people but we persevered and finally we are at the end of our journey. Many of you were sure that our protector, the Battlestar _Galactica_, would be destroyed by the Cylons. But they were saved, saved by our brethren from Earth.

As we were looking for them, they found us first and their first act was to protect the _Galactica_ and destroy the Cylon Fleet that was attacking us. My fellow colonials, I give you the 25th Fleet of the Terran Federation."

As she finished her sentence in front of astonished members of the press, the 25th Fleet in its entirety appeared in escort position around the Colonial Fleet.

The Super dreadnought _General's Glory_ appeared in front of the Galactica and Colonial one, its hull a gleaming silver grey, with the tall towers surrounding the sun like globe of power in the center of the ship, reminiscent of a city of the gods.

Every ship in the Colonial Fleet was able to witness for the first time the mighty ships of the Terran Federation, bringing hope in the hearts of people desperate for a reprieve in their constant journey to salvation.

As the day ended for the Colonial Fleet, not many eyes were free of tears. They were not alone anymore.


	7. Chapter 6

Hello every one!

My exams are finished and as I promised here is the next chapter. I will be going in holiday Friday 13 but be reassured I bring with me my computer and will have access to internet so I will be able to upload some chapters.

And to anyone wondering or wanting a clearer image of the Terran uniform, I take inspiration from the TV series Andromeda, which I don't own. The general design of suits and some of the colors are from andromeda while the color of the pants and the grade insignias is mine. I don't know you but in many Sci-Fi series, the Grade insignias are so small that if you don't examine them in detail you can't see the difference.

Chapter 6

After the announcement from President Roslin, the Terran Federation's 25th Fleet started operations of humanitarian aid to the Colonial Fleet.

The first shipments of food, medication, and clothing had already been distributed by Terran Personnel in great quantities. Terran Doctors from the Fleet where dispatched on all civilian vessels and helped where ever they could, even managing to respect the wishes of the Sagitarron by providing them with natural medicines though not everyone seemed happy about the idea. Not knowing anything about the Terrans made many people nervous, but the calm and professionalism of every Terran worker helped calm waters.

Several repair ships were provided by the Terran Federation to fix the damaged ships. The machine shop aboard the Terran Federation ships were producing replacement parts as quickly as they could from the sensors analysis. To the surprise of many colonial engineers, the replacement parts were of a better quality than the ones stocked from the colonies.

But the most profound effect of the Terran Fleet was not the amenities they provided but the sense of security they provided. Terran cruisers were patrolling at the edge of the sector in case of an attack, Dreadnoughts were shielding with their enormous presence the civilian's ships and Arrows were helping the Combat Air Patrol.

But while the Colonials were happy with the help, the revelation of the Terran Fleet appearing from nowhere increased the wireless traffic between ships to a point never seen before and no amount of control from the colonial government could prevent it. Speculations were running unchecked and wild theories were popping up like flees on a street dog. The general population was still wary of the Terrans even with what they did for them.

To put to rest these fears and calm the rumor mill, Admiral Delterre offered a tour of the _General's Glory_, the Admiral's flagship and even allowed the president to bring with them a camera crew, thought no journalist was allowed to accompany them since the D'Anna Biers fiasco aboard the Galactica years ago. The tour was transmitted live, every ship in the fleet were fitted with large screens from the Terran Federation, and so far every able person was planning to attend.

* * *

**Raptor en route to TFS **_**General's Glory**_

The President, The Admiral and a camera crew were onboard a raptor with Director Petersen in an invitation by Admiral Delterre to visit his ship. Finally able to take a close look of the Terran's ship, every colonial aboard the raptor were scrutinizing every corner of the ship, admiring its design. The _ General's Glory_ seem to be made from one single piece of dark grey metal as no rivets could be seen holding it together. Glowing vertical thrusters in the shape of a curved triangle illuminated the area while small tube like ships were coming and going from the hangar bays on the each side of the ship. They were approaching one of the main bays on the side of the ship and could already see to their stupefaction that an honor guard was assembled waiting for them seemingly exposed to the vacuum of space but protected by the shield. As the Raptor landed, the Admiral and the President gave each over a look of determination and nodded to the pilot to open the door.

Immediately the 2 pilots exited the ship, surveyed the situation and stepped aside to let the Admiral step out. As the President stepped out, the colonial anthem played on the speakers while the honor guard came to attention in their midnight blue uniform. Admiral Delterre and his staff were standing at the end of the column formed by the honor guard, waiting for them.

The Admiral was surrounded by three officers all dressed like him in the midnight blue dress uniform of the Terran space Navy. The first one was a Chinese man of approximately 40 years with average height, the second was a black man of 30 years or so and a very tall stature, and the last officer was a young woman of average Height and blond hair.

The officers of the Terran Space Navy saluted the President first and the Admiral Adama second, following protocol. At last finished with the protocol the Admiral started the presentations" Mme President, Admiral, may I present to you Commander Peng, Commanding Officer of the _General's Glory,_ my Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Commander Mugabe and Lieutenant Rawthorne, who I designated as your liaison if you will accept her."

Smiling gently to the professional looking young woman, the President responded" Of course Admiral, thank you for your consideration, will Lieutenant Rawthorne come back with us?"

"Yes Mme President, Lieutenant Rawthorne will be acting as your military liaison until your settling on your new world when a permanent Ambassador will be appointed by the Foreign Office."

With the final presentations made between everyone, Admiral Delterre started the tour of his flagship "The Super Dreadnought class ship serve in the Terran Navy as the Flagship of the Admiral commanding a Fleet. Unlike typical war ships, it is a multipurpose ship used for exploration, diplomacy and commerce additionally to being a warship."

Nodding to the Admiral's words Adama asked" how is this ship powered, with all we have seen from your capabilities you must use a spectacular source of energy?"

Smiling the Admiral replied "At the heart of this ship's class is a controlled singularity which provides unlimited energy. It is basically a miniature nova constantly generating energy which is fed to the ship directly. May I ask how you power your ships?"

"We refine a mineral called Tylium and use it as a carburant for our ships engines. For this purpose we have several ships able to mine and refine the mineral that we found on asteroids."

"I see if you are interested we may be able to fit some of our cold fusion reactors onto your ship. It may help you produce more energy for the Galactica and free some resources for the rest of the Fleet."

"Any help would be greatly appreciated but I do not know what type of energy source is a Cold Fusion Reactor?"

"It's a reactor we developed approximately 120 years ago on Earth. It can generate as much energy as a nuclear reactor but using only heavy water as a source. It is thus safer and more compact."

"I will ask my chief engineer to contact your staff, this will be of great help for us. We are very dependant of Tylium factoring and freeing resources will facilitate matters."

As they were talking they entered a corridor with dark blue marble like walls with sliding opaque glass doors every 10 meters. They stopped in front of a wall with a screen showing a map of the ship with a golden globe on top of it.

Colonel Mugabe stepped in front of the map and started the explanation" This is our main mean of transport aboard the ship. The globe you see on top is what we call a beam globe. You have to select the destination on the map and the transporter will beam you to your chosen destination."

Frowning in confusion the President asked the obvious question" What do you mean by beaming?"

Clarifying is explanation Colonel Mugabe responded" Beaming technology was given to us by our greatest allies, the Asgard. It is a device that dematerialize the body and reconstruct it a second later to the destination."

Astonished and a little fearful Laura Roslin could not wrap her head around what was revealed to her. The very thought of a working dematerialization technology opened worlds of possibilities to her mind, terrible as well as wonderful worlds.

Admiral Delterre stepped forward to continue the visit" We will use the transporter to beam next to the Bridge." Saying this he touched the icon of the Bridge on the Map. A whirring sound echoed in their ears followed by a bright light and they were in another corridor filled with Terran personnel. Unlike The midnight blue dress uniform worn by the commanding officers, the on duty crew was dressed in grey pants tucked in black boots and burgundy leather vest.

They entered the Bridge and took in the activity around them. Contrary to the Galactica CIC, the General's Glory's bridge was a big airy room with a view out to space. 3 central chairs were placed in the middle on a raised platform, while 20 consoles were spread around what appeared to be a holographic tank of 20 meters.

Proudly, Admiral Delterre described the bridge" The bridge is the central nervous system of the ship; every system can be controlled through here. But the most important person in this room is right over there" He then turned around to show the holographic screen were a form began to appear.

The small form was that of an alien, with grey skin and big black eyes. As it turned toward them Admiral Delterre began the presentations" Mme President, Admiral Adama may I present to you Freya, our Asgard resident and avatar for this ship."

The Asgard Avatar Officer turned toward the Colonials watching him with rapt attention" Hello, I am Freya, Avatar Officer of the Terran Federation."

Nodding in greeting, not knowing what to say to the first alien they ever encountered, the president and the Admiral were observing everything around them. The air of professionalism was present in every officer of the bridge they saw, from the ensigns manning the communication stations to the 2 master crewmen standing guard at the door.

Continuing their tour, they turned to exit the Bridge and again came in front of the Beam Globe. Commander Peng touched another point on the map and they reappeared in the middle of a garden with a breathtaking view of the singularity powering the ship. Fascinated by the display, the camera crew, the President and the Admiral were so taken by the view that they missed the environment around them.

Finally turning around they were even more astonished by the vista. In front of them was displayed an enormous city with spires Hundred meters tall with bridges connecting them. At the feet of the buildings, large gardens were sprawling with small water fountains and people milling around.

Trying to find her voice, the President was wondering how such a thing could be possible in a starship, knowing the hazards space travel presented.

Seeing her fascination, Admiral Delterre started to explain the details of the City" every Dreadnought and Super Dreadnought class of ships disposes of a city. The city is the principal living emplacement of the ship where crewmembers and civilians alike live. For example, we currently have aboard an exploration team, 2 ambassadors and their staff and the family members of some of the crew who are here for a visit. The city as a capacity of 7 000 people and is protected by a 3 layered shield tied directly to the singularity."

Nodding to Admiral Delterre while trying to take in everything in front of her, Admiral Adama asked the question he was thinking of since seeing this city" Admiral, since our run from New Caprica some of the civilian's ship already in bad condition before are now showing signs of failure. The _Galactica _as already taken some of the civilians aboard but we are reaching maximum capacity as are other ships. It would be of great help for us if you could shelter some of them in this city."

"I see Admiral. The city is currently not at full capacity and can probably shelter approximately 5 000 of your people. If we combine this city with the ones on the Dreadnoughts we can push it to 10 000. But I want it understood that while onboard our ships, your people will be under our jurisdiction and so subject of the Terran Federal Law. Our security systems are very efficient and any transgression of military facilities will be met with deadly force. If you can accept these conditions then we will be happy to welcome them aboard our ships."

Responding with a smile in her voice the President replied for Admiral Adama" It will be no problem for us and since we might request membership in the Terran Federation, it will be a good thing to have our people start experiencing life in a federal setting."

Turning toward Commander Peng, the admiral ordered him to make preparations to welcome the Colonials. Admiral Delterre then asked the Colonials to follow him while he showed them the typical 

architecture of the city, inspired directly from the Great City of Atlantis with geometric designs, tall stained glass windows and great aerial bridges between buildings.

Finishing the tour of the city by the market place where Federal Citizens were buying and selling, they headed toward a Beam Globe. The Admiral then selected another destination and they found themselves in an office, without the camera crew.

As the President and the Admiral examined their surroundings they realized they were in fact in Admiral Delterre's Office when they watched him take place behind an enormous desk and ask them to take place in front of him.

He explained that the Camera crew was continuing the tour by interviewing some of the passengers and crewmen aboard the ship, while they continued their discussions in private.

"I know that some of your people put a great deal of faith in your recorded history and your religion, and for this I wanted to tell you in private what our theories are concerning your people and the fabled 13 colony you were looking for. I will add that everything concerning our history is clearly documented and proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, what theories we have are not about us but more where your people come from. But I think the beginning will be a better place to start. Millions of years ago, a race of beings from another galaxy in search of a new home found our planet, Earth and started colonizing it. This race was called the Alterans and was a very advanced civilization both technologically and biologically. They expanded their civilization, terra forming planets and establishing colonies all over the Milky Way galaxy, forming alliances with 3 other races, the Asgard, the Nox and the Furlings. They were the first human looking civilization, our genetical ancestors. Unfortunately at the height of their civilization they were struck down by a plague that slowly but surely were killing them. Even with all their knowledge, nothing they did could save them so they fled the Milky Way Galaxy and choose to re settle in the Pegasus Galaxy approximately a 100 000 years ago. They lived there for millennia until they entered a war with another race, the Wraith, for which they were only food. Again while technologically vastly superior to the Wraith their numbers were too low and, as they were succumbing to the enormously greater number of their enemies, tried to rejoin Earth. Here is where our theories start: during the time that the Alterans left, the plague had ran its course leaving very few of the survivors left behind alive. After a time, our species, the second evolution of the Alterans but less advanced biologically, were discovered by another race, this one with more nefarious intentions, the Goa'oulds. The Goa'oulds are a race of extremely intelligent parasites who use living hosts to reside, and their preference rapidly became humans. With their technology they enslaved us, taking some of us as host, genetically modifying others as soldiers and incubators for their young. They posed as Gods and established domains throughout the Galaxy. But one day approximately 10 000 years ago, the humans of Earth rebelled and overthrew the Goa'oulds. We believe that the Alterans choose to return during the time of that rebellion and decided to help us. This theory was established 50 years ago after we finished deciphering the databases from the Alterans we discovered. You have to understand that while the humans from the time may have overrun the defenses on the planet, they didn't have the capability to destroy the capital ships the Goa'oulds possessed at the time. We believe the Alterans were responsible for that."

Nodding at what Admiral Delterre was telling her, the President asked the question that was on her and probably Admiral Adama's mind" But how does this relate to us, we had no contact with the Goa'oulds?"

"You had no contact with the Goa'oulds, yes, but we believe that the Alterans choose some of your ancestors form what is now Greece on Earth to create a new colony for them, Kobol. The Alterans were a peaceful race with the aspiration to help others. But since the war, the surviving Alterans were few, barely a hundred aboard 2 or 3 ships came back from the Pegasus Galaxy and the rest of their people had ascended to another plane of existence so they decided to do the last thing they could do, offer some of us a new home fearing the return of the Goa'oulds. They settled on Kobol, living among your people until they too choose to Ascend and rejoin the others."

Shocked from what she learned and the attack on her beliefs she needed more details to help her understand the story the Admiral told her" From what I understand from your theory you believe our lords of Kobol, our Gods, were aliens! How do you want us to believe that? And what is this ascension you are talking about?"

"I will start by your last question. Ascension is a process where the body becomes so advanced genetically speaking that with the correct mentality the need for a physical body disappears and evolves to a being of pure energy. This is a state to which most Alterans had access and they choose to evolve to a higher plane of existence. Now from what we understand, Ascended beings in our universe have a strict rule of non interference in which even to the threat of complete annihilation of a race they would not interfere. However that rule does not automatically apply to every Ascended being as we discovered with the Ori, Ascended that behaved like the Goa'oulds. While we do not think that your ascended beings had nefarious intentions, we don't think they restrained themselves to not interfere in your galaxy. Finally, we have records of the phenomenon that is Ascension. If any Human witnessed it 10 000 years ago, I don't think believing them gods would have been so far from their minds. Frankly we don't want to impose any of our beliefs to your people, in that regard and as stated clearly in our constitution, freedom of religion is one of our most sacred rights. We just want to explain to you some of our theories and furthermore make you understand that while for your people we are your 13 colony, we do not have the same beliefs as you. On Earth the Greek religion of worshiping the pantheon of gods died out 2 millennia ago."

Considering the information given to her by Admiral Delterre, she saw the importance of revealing it in private. While a fervent believer in the Gods of Kobol, she was also a practical and intelligent woman who knew since the beginning that 4 000 years of separation, from what their scriptures told them, was a very long time and that many things might be different between their people. But to learn that their entire religion was considered a thing of the past was something she did not expect.

However, thanks to the opportunity offered to them to settle on their own world, she decided to move past it, knowing that even if currently religion took a more active role in the lives of the Colonial public, many among her citizens were almost atheists and that fact would not bother them.

Looking to the chair at her side she saw that Admiral Adama looked thoughtful but not bothered by the theories presented to them. But of course, Bill Adama was always someone that looked at every angle of a problem or information before making any decision, a fact which saved their lives more times that she could dare to count.

Finally exiting is silent contemplation, William Adama decided to offer his own comments to the situation" You said before that the Alterans were allied with 3 other races, why then did they not do 

anything against these Goa'oulds or helped the Alterans. I believe the Asgard were one of your closest allies, were they not?"

Taking the mantle, Director Petersen responded to him" At the time of the emergence of the Goa'oulds, the Asgard were starting a war with a very powerful enemy known as the replicators, very advanced automated machines which were locked on only one setting, to self replicate by any means necessary. Furthermore the Asgard home world was in the Galaxy of Ida, far from here and they still believed that the plague was running rampant. By the time they were made aware of the situation it was too late and the Goa'oulds already occupied the majority of the system. The Nox are a very advanced race but very peaceful. It was not in their nature to make war to the point of not defending themselves if they were attacked. If they had been attacked by the Goa'oulds they would have lost because they would not have fought. Instead of allowing the Goa'oulds to take their technology, they decided to hide themselves on their home world. It is only recently they reopened communications with us. Finally the Furlings were a race native from our home galaxy but from another phase compared to us. They were working against the Goa'oulds in their own way but had limited interaction with our phase."

Nodding to himself, as he made up his mind, Admiral Adama thanked the Director and addressed Admiral Delterre directly" Admiral, whatever the religious people decide to believe or not is not my problem. My only purpose is to protect the fleet and help us survive the genocide brought by the Cylons. To that end I would like your agreement to prepare the fleet to move forward into your territory under your protection."

"Of course Admiral Adama. Even if the world you decide to settle upon is not the exact way we would be going, for our security it would be better to start the preparations to move the fleet. As you requested, the General's Glory and the 4 Dreadnought in the 25th Fleet will be made ready to harbor your citizens until they are ready to settle on their new home world." Replied Delterre.

As the Colonial representatives began to take their leave, Director Peterson addressed them" Mme President, I took the liberty to ask my government to provide me with complete details of the planets available for you to settle on so that you may begin the selection process. The information is already in the hands of Lieutenant Rawthorne."

Leaving the _General's Glory_ onboard their Raptor, Laura Roslin could only begin to wander what the future had in store for them.

* * *

**Same location, 3 days later.**

Several civilian ships, ready to explode at the seams as well as the dog town on Galactica had been evacuated and the civilian population relocated aboard the Super Dreadnought's inner City in real quarters equipped with every comfort they could ask for.

After 3 years of running from the doom of their civilization and the gnawing fear eating away at their stomachs the Colonial People felt safe.

The Quorum of Twelve, the President and the Admiral and his aides had been in constant communications with the Head of the Contact Office back on Earth and their provisional Membership had already been approved by the Federal Senate engaged in an emergency session. The choice 

offered to re settle on a new world which appealed greatly to them was accepted and they were discussing the various worlds available. While the Cyrannus Galaxy, their home Galaxy was poor in habitable worlds, the Milky Way Galaxy offered them a multitude of planets not only habitable but also rich in minerals and fertile lands. But while the choice was vast, the time was short. Whatever planet of their choosing was, the Terran Federation needed at least a week to install the Satellite Defense System composed of 39 Satellites, and 2 more months to complete the basic infrastructures needed for a permanent settling. They had to choose wisely in the best time possible and after much consideration a planet named by the Terrans PXY-913 was elected. The planet itself was slightly larger than Caprica with 2 oceans and 3 Great lakes of fresh water each the size of Australia. It was considered a green planet virtually untouched by civilization and rich in Trinium and diverse minerals they could mine as an economic resource for revenues in the Terran Federation.

With this final decision everything was ready to be made official and a state visit to Earth was prepared for the President, the Admiral and 3 of the Representatives for the Quorum of Twelve: Lee Adama, Marshall Bagott and Sarah Porter.

To avoid the trip for a ship from the edge of the Milky way to Earth the Stargate aboard the General's Glory was activated. Every Capital Ship in the Terran Space Navy was fitted with a Stargate that was used when ships are in orbit of a planet for direct contact and transportations inside the Federation. The Stargate network connecting every planet of the Federation was set apart from the general Stargate network of the Milky Way Galaxy by the use of codes that disconnected the wormhole if it was not entered in time.

In front of a camera crew, the Colonial contingent, escorted by 4 colonial Marines as an honor guard, was ready to step through the event horizon of the incredible wormhole that opened in front of them, and every colonial watching the spectacle on the screens.

As the honor guard stepped carefully through the event horizon, Laura Roslin couldn't help to pray the Gods that everything would go right. She took a great breath and stepped through the gate reappearing a second later in a different place.

She was standing in the middle of an indoor square with tall stained glass windows in the architecture reminiscent of the City aboard the General's Glory. Her honor guard was waiting for her, standing on either side of the gate next to the Terran Honor Guard waiting for her. At the end of the honor guard, an older man of about 60 stood waiting for her in a dark suit, his eyes sharp detailing everything he saw. Turning around after hearing the wormhole close behind her she took sight of the rest of the square: contrary to her first glance, she was only partially indoor as the square ended on a huge balcony hundreds of meters long overlooking the sea. Their arrival was at night as she could see the stars shining in the sky above her head.

As she tried to focus her attention on the proceedings in front of her, she suddenly turned back and stared at a grouping of constellations. Taking Bill Adama's hand she stammered the name of the constellation she recognized" Gemini, Bill it's the constellation for Gemenon!"

And as the Admiral stared at the sky like her he could only utter one phrase" _And the people of the 13th colony rejoiced, as when they looked to the heaven, they could see their 12 brothers_."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Colonial Remnant Fleet was stationing around the moon of the uninhabitable gas giant of the system so as to permit the transit from this unknown system to Earth. The anticipation was growing and every colonial was waiting impatiently for the return of their leaders with the hope of a new start for the colonies of Kobol. Even fanatically religious people, ready to stand up to any perceived slight of their faith were more than ready to make concessions, if it meant the survival of their race. Furthermore, they were promised that their traditions would not be compromised by the immersion in another culture. Their religion, the basis of their culture would be preserved and a little of the 12 colonies would survive with them.

But while the Remnant Fleet was peacefully waiting for news, their mortal enemy was preparing a massive assault against them, lying in the outer system with a force composed of 20 _Base Stars_ and 2 Thousands _raiders _and _heavy raiders_. After carefully analyzing the footage from the battle with the Terran Fleet, the Cylons voted 4 to 2 the attack against this new foe. Only the Eights and the Sixes voted against the attack reasoning that they didn't need another war with a technologically superior opponent even if said opponent was protecting the Colonials from them. But the Cylon coalition, represented by Brother Cavil was adamant. If they wanted to attain Earth before the Colonials then they needed to strike them now before they made an appeal of these new aliens. And if it made them a new enemy, then they will bear the consequences. After all, they were machines and for them time was nothing in their immortal bodies. After striking them down they will regroup, maybe to Earth, and then come back after gathering their forces.

Yes they thought of every possibility.

Except one.

That the Colonial's defender was from Earth.

And that as they prepared their assault, their prey was also aware of them.

* * *

**Earth, **_**Atlantis**_**, Capital City of the Terran Federation**

The tour organized by the Terran Federal Government of Atlantis opened many eyes for every member of the Colonial delegation.

Situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where the legends of Earth of long ago placed it, Atlantis was a city of marvels. Its elegant architecture, functional yet beautiful with its geometric designs represented a marvel of engineering. With the gently lapping Ocean around them, and the far out coast line from the Canaries Islands, the view offered by the city was spectacular.

But more than its overall architecture, the technology wonders displayed for them at every corner surprised them. From soft sliding doors to holographic guides passing by transporter rooms, this city awed them.

Each building of the city was used by one of the different ministries and offices in the Terran Federal Government as well as quarters for the ambassadors from the different civilizations not part of the Federation, like the Jaffa Nation.

From every side of the City, ships were flying to and from space and the coast, in a multitude of activity all around them. Resembling the Shuttles used by the Terran Space Navy in their reliefs efforts but with differences in their lengths for some of them.

The Terran Federal Senate was situated beneath the City in an underwater amphitheater attached to the original part of the city. The Amphitheater was made with the same architecture as the city itself with huge bays that opened to the Ocean giving the 2 chambers a breathtaking outlook of the marine life occurring underneath the City.

The First Chamber of the Senate, which dealt with all internal affairs of the Federation like financial politics and social laws, was decorated in blue and silver colors with simple ornaments letting the majesty of the Sea dominate the chamber with 20 meters tall windows.

The Second Chamber of the Senate dealt with all foreign affairs and was decked out in gold and red with smaller windows and representations of the member worlds and colony in the form of paintings hanging everywhere.

It was in this chamber that the decision was made to accept the provisional membership of the Colonial remnant and the approval for their new Home World with the allocation of funds to start the installation of planetary defenses.

After sending word to their fleet of the approval from the Terran Senate, the Colonial delegation separated itself in 2 groups after installing themselves in their quarters in the Capital City of Atlantis. The first group composed of Admiral Adama and representative Adama was in discussion with the director of intelligence, Director Perez and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Chahine to discuss the capabilities and tactics used by the Cylons in the war and the strategies to develop to counter them. The second group was headed by the President and was composed of the rest of the delegation. Their role was the diplomatic talks with the Terran Federation Government and senate for a mission to rescue whatever survivors subsisted on the 12 colony worlds. An exploration mission of Kobol was also prepared to see if any remaining technology or archeological digs could be started to uncover the real truth about the 12 Colonies history. Any uncovered technology would be shared between the Federation and the 12 Colonies. Also, as she promised to Baltar, she asked the Terran Government if they would accept to meet with him so that he could present his request of asylum in the Federation, detailing to them the suspicions and charges that were pressed against him and his play of a messiah to several desperate colonial people.

Armed with the preliminary acceptance of their provisional membership status in the Terran Federation, the Colonial delegation was hammering the final details of the membership charter. The president was also negotiating with the Terran Space Navy the rights of use of the Point to Point jump drive used by the Colonials and the charts and resources they found during their travel to Earth.

Thanks to these negotiations, the Colonial Government already assured itself an income sufficient for them to start their new economy on their new world. After all negotiations were finished, Laura Roslin, as President of the 12 Colonies of Kobol, signed the treaty entering her people into the Terran Federation.

Finally returning to their people, the delegation couldn't stop the smiles adorning their faces as their prospecting future looked brighter and brighter each day.

* * *

**25****th**** Fleet, orbiting the uninhabitable moon of a gas giant.**

Onboard the _General's Glory_ the 25th fleet council of superior officers were meeting to decide the strategy to adopt in regards to the Cylons presence at the edge of the system, well outside the range of the Colonial DRADIS system, but perfectly detectable for the Terran Federation Fleet with its Ancient scanners capable of detecting ships in hyper space thousands of light years in advance.

Admiral Delterre had already ordered his staff to prepare a report for _Galactica_'s CO so that their systems could be prepared for any tentative from the Cylons.

Contrary to the last time where the strategy was to protect the extent of their capabilities from the Cylons by adopting a strategy of defense and restraint, this time the Admiral was not taking any chance so as not to suffer casualties.

The 2 heavy Carriers of the fleet would stay with the Colonial Fleet, with their contingent of 600 Arrows as protection from the _Raiders_ and _Heavy Raiders_ detected. But the sheer number of them required more than the Arrows but also the deployment of the Drones platforms on all ships. For that the Admiral decided to retire the 14 Cruisers from their positions as patrollers and post them as sentries around the Civilian Fleet, ready to deploy their drones with someone manning the chair at all times aboard each ship.

But more than that, to dissuade altogether the attack, the Admiral and its staff decided that a pre emptive strike against the Cylon Fleet would be necessary. The task for this mission was left in the hands of the _General's Glory_ and the 4 Dreadnoughts of the 25th fleet which will strike with a heavy hit attack with full weapon capability on the _Base Stars_, concentrating their fire on them.

It was time for the Cylons to feel the wrath of the Terran Space Navy.

* * *

_**Battlestar Galactica**_**, orbiting the uninhabitable moon of a gas giant.**

The mood was positive onboard the ship. Finally sampling the goods provided by the Terran Fleet, the crew of the _Galactica_ was impatiently waiting for the return of their leaders and the final travel to their new Home World, a literal paradise compared to New Caprica which was a barren world with a harsh environment, as images and topographic data had been supplied to the population to prepare them for the colonization.

The crew, tired from years of eating processed algae food and living on the brink of life was finally able to take some time off, with the Combat Air Patrol operated by the Terran Heavy Carriers. Engineering was finally able to affect some much needed repairs on the Vipers and Raptors with replacement parts more effective than the originals coming from the Terran facilities. Whatever their manufacturing shops were, the hardware coming out of their ships were of a better quality than the ones made on Picon, the Colonial Fleet Headquarters.

Already, echoes of the colonial people aboard the Terran Ships reported to them the conditions of life they enjoyed. Everything was not perfect as the Colonial refugees had to obey new laws and 

restrictions from their brethren but people adapted even if some grumblings and disagreements could be heard from time to time. Full stomachs and good health had a way to cure anyone from their fear.

Several ships which were not designed to operate so far from a space dock had been emptied and if possible salvaged. But many of them were too damaged and finally scraped for parts to use and materials for the new colony.

Finally receiving word of the shuttle coming from the _General's Glory_ with the colonial delegation onboard, Colonel Tigh was impatiently waiting for them in the hangar bay, anxious for them to be in safety in case the Cylon Attack came before they were ready.

The _Puddle Jumper_ finally stopped in front of him, and Tigh could not help but admire the smooth lines of the little ship. The rear door opened and the delegation exited the ship, talking amongst themselves with smiles in their voices. As Tigh came to attention in front of the Admiral, the President continued on to the meeting room to coordinate the final leg of their journey.

Quietly asking is old friend to follow him to the CIC, they rapidly made the journey and Tigh started to fill him on what happened while he was on Earth.

"Bill, the Terrans detected a large force of Cylons several hundred light years of us, out of range of DRADIS contact. Admiral Delterre decided to strike them before they could and deployed several of his ships to protect us."

Frowning, the Admiral took everything his XO was telling him while thinking about the different options offered to them after everything he saw on Earth. "From what I know of their capabilities, the Cylons are in for a rough fight, I don't envy them. Did he tell you what ships will be used for his attack? I know that many of our people are now living in the Live Zones of his ships. How are the reparations of our FTL drive coming along?"

"They are well on their way since we cannibalized the necessary parts from the evacuated ships in the Fleet, I estimate 4 to 5 days to complete the reparations and then we will need to test everything so maybe 6 days. Admiral Delterre told me that the ships used for the attack will indeed be the ones with many of our people onboard but he assured me that what happened to his damaged cruiser will not happen again and that our people are safe. Frankly they are safer with them in the middle of a battle than on the _Galactica_ or aboard some dingy old civilian ship" Responded Tigh.

"Very well, maintain the ship on alert and the batteries on. Ask Admiral Delterre if we could send someone to act as a liaison for us on their ships to see how they operate. If they accept, send M. Gaeta to the _Glory_, he is our more knowledgeable officer in technology and was ready to start the war college before the war, he will be able to analyze the tactics used by the Terran Space Navy. I also want you to transmit these coordinates to the fleet, I want them to jump there for security purposes and ask the admiral if he could provide them a Heavy Carrier as an escort."

The Admiral then exited the CIC, heading towards the conference room were Laura Roslin was presiding over the Government. The priority right now was to prepare the Fleet for the many jumps awaiting them to rejoin with their new Home. Thanks to the Terrans computer capabilities and their stellar maps, they were able to pre calculate the different coordinates necessary so that instead of 

200 jumps with coordinates to calculate each time, only 20 jumps were required to travel the 2000 light years.

After the dismantlement of the oldest ships and the replenishment of their reserves everything was ready materially, the only ship not ready was in fact the _Galactica_.

As he arrived in the conference room, he took his place next to Laura Roslin, with Lieutenant Rawthorne seated beside her, ready to assist. The Admiral started by informing everyone of the planned attack on the Cylon fleet by the Terran Space Navy. The Admiral exposed is plan to have the majority of the Civilian Fleet, escorted by one of the Terran Heavy Carriers, jump to a secure location out of the system, while the _Galactica_, immobilized but not disarmed, would stay here to provide bait for the Cylons.

The only thing left on the agenda was the announcement of the treaty signed with the Terran Federation to the people of the fleet. To make the most impact, the entire delegation would be present at the conference.

As they were getting ready to start the conference, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta was preparing his bag to become the Colonial observer on the _General's Glory_, exited at the idea of watching the action from a Terran Space Navy Ship. What he didn't expect however was to be beamed out directly from his quarters with his bag, directly in front of an amused Lieutenant Commander Mugabe waiting for him in the transport room. Recovering from his shock and gathering what remained of his dignity, Lieutenant Gaeta stood at attention clearly announcing his rank and affiliation. "Lieutenant Felix Gaeta, Colonial Fleet, Sir!"

Smiling at the enthusiastic young man, Lieutenant Commander Lionel Mugabe saluted him then led him to his quarters. Felix was surprised to discover the quarters reserved for him. While officers onboard the Galactica were reserved more spacious quarters with only 3 others officers to share, his quarters resembled Admiral Adama's quarters with a bed, a desk and a bathroom but no sofa. He turned towards the Colonel, expecting him to laugh and bring him to his real quarters "Commander, Sir, are you sure these are the right quarters? I would prefer to receive the same treatment as your officers, Sir."

Looking with an eyebrow raised at the young Lieutenant in front of him the Lieutenant Commander responded to him" Lieutenant, these are the quarters used by Officers from the Lieutenant rank up to Captain, the officers from Lieutenant Commander Rank up to Commander have more spacious quarters. The ensigns share quarters such as these by pairs, and the Non commissioned officers by 4. Below that grade, the fleet personnel are lodged in dormitories if they are single. Any married personnel of any rank dispose of apartments with their family, if they live onboard, on the Life Zone. So do not worry you are receiving no preferential treatment. Now hurry up we need to be on the Bridge."

Placing his bag on the bed and following the Lieutenant Commander in the direction of the nearest Beam globe, they soon found themselves on the Bridge, Gaeta taking everything he saw with wonderment. Coming to attention in front of Commander Peng and the Admiral, he saluted both then observed everything around him, noting the professionalism that each crew member displayed in front of him. More, the discipline on the ship while strict left enough maneuvering for a casual 

atmosphere of camaraderie to be present and you could feel it in the crew. But more importantly, the life conditions aboard Terran ships were very comfortable compared to their colonial equivalent and it helped to maintain a good morale on ships clearly made for long deployments.

He noted with rapt attention the holographic display in the center of the Bridge surrounded with consoles and personnel. A hologram of an alien was busy pointing different ships of Cylon configuration in a far corner of the holographic map, instructing the different crew members of the weak spots he detected on the Cylon ships.

He couldn't help but be impressed with the view offered to him by the Bridge, opened directly to space via a huge window where he could see several Civilian ships floating in space. Such a point of view was impossible onboard a ship like the _Galactica _were the CIC was situated deep in the bowels of the ship to protect it from a direct attack. Such a mentality was however obsolete in these ships where energy shields protected the bridge from a direct hit. What Lieutenant Gaeta couldn't know at the moment was that what he thought of reinforced glass was in fact a transparent metallic alloy as resistant as the rest of the ship and capable of sustaining heavy hits against its surface.

"One day", he thought to himself, «I might become a member of a Terran ship and explore the stars with them. Even if I am but a passenger or a member of a delegation, young or old, I might come back and explore."

But for now his ambitions of explorations needed to be put on hold as his people required him to observe and learn anything he could, and hope. Hope that this war, this genocide, will end.

"Yes, now we have hope." He thought.

* * *

**Colonial One, Orbiting the Uninhabitable moon of a gas giant, System unknown**

Laura Roslin, followed by the colonial delegation to the Terran Federation stepped into the stage ready to address the ships in the Fleet. They had received, a half hour before, the agreement from Admiral Delterre to Admiral Adama's plan of using the Galactica as bait and sending ahead the Civilian fleet, with the Heavy Carrier _Autumn's Equinox_ as escort. The Cruisers would be deployed as sentries, 5 would stay with the Galactica, despite Admiral Adama's objection and 9 will follow the civilian fleet, a 100 light years en route to the new world.

Lieutenant Gaeta was getting ready to transport to the Glory, and the 25th Fleet was ready to depart for their offensive action against the Cylons. Admiral Delterre was waiting for the end of the conference to depart, in a show of support and to prevent a panic in the Fleet at the sudden disappearance of their protectors.

The President stepped on the podium and placed her notes in front of her, took a breath and started. "My dear compatriots, you know that a Colonial Delegation was sent to the Terran Home world, in part to finalize the treaty entering us into the Terran Federation, and in part to verify that Earth is really the Capital of the Terran Federation they speak about, the ones described in our sacred scrolls as the 13th colony. I can now assure you that the Terran Home World IS the fabled Earth we were searching for. "She paused a moment for the cheers to subside then continued."As of now we are provisional members of the Terran Federation and will be leaving to our new world, which we decided to name, New Kobol. As Kobol was our birthplace, New Kobol will be the place of our rebirth as a people free of genocide and war.

We colonials will survive the Cylons and more than that we will LIVE.

During the long journey ahead of us, the 25th fleet will protect us with every bit of efficiency they displayed before. But more importantly they will do so by taking on the Cylons head on. As I speak, a part of the 25th fleet is ready to head off towards a Cylon fleet they detected and destroy them. To the courageous crew of the 25th Fleet I say good hunting, to the Cylons I say, reap the whirlwind!"

As she finished her allocution, a great vortex of energy opened in front of the _General's Glory_ and several Terran ships where they disappeared in a large flash of light. The war was coming to the Cylons, be they ready for it or not.

* * *

As you see in this chapter I introduced a change in Atlantis's general configuration. As some of you know, the City ships were originally designed to land on pre placed outpost (like the one on Earth), the Outpost becoming a part of the City. Here the City was anchored to an outpost structure, anchored itself to the bottom of the Ocean. The Senate is thus situated below the city in the ocean but still remains a complete part of it as it connects to it like an outpost.

I also introduced a new type of small ships, besides the usual Jumper. After obtaining the plans for the creation of the Jumpers in the Ancient database, the Terrans created several types of variants of its designs made specifically for example to transport more people, troops or cargo. They are still able to fit through the Gate but are longer or smaller.

I for example will introduce some of the typical ships used in the Terran Space Troopers for the deployment of soldiers:

The _Marauder_ class: These ships are used in deep cover missions by Special Forces. The ships are small, able to fit through the gate but heavily armed. They use a complete cloak design that renders them able to stay indictable for month or able to phase directly to bypass shields and defenses used on Stargates. They have a different design, shaped like a needle with 7 nacelles extending from behind (4) and the Front (3). They are also capable of a limited Hyper space drive.

15 drone missiles.

I Plasma multidirectional canon (think Al'Kesh)

The _Grand Fisher _class: Huge ships used as a rapid and massive deployment of troops in combat zones. They are capable of moving 10 000 soldiers or personnel to great distances. They posses limited weapon capability with only one drone platform but use a very powerful shield system. Their hyper space drive is fast to permit a rapid deployment.

The _Fisher_ Class: Small to Medium sized ships, the ship size render him unable to pass through the stargate, used for the deployment of personnel from Capital ship to ship or Capital ship to planet; they transport soldiers in a dematerialized form with the help of a wraith beam. They have a capacity of a thousand and are able to deploy them in waves of 200. They are unarmed but shield protected. 

Their main weapon is their speed as they are capable of attaining the speed of light with minimal problem for the crew as the ship can be then used on auto pilot from the Capital Ship.


	9. Chapter 8

AN: Sorry for the longer wait than usual but i was very busy with work after my return from holidays. Enjoy this new chapter and as always i welcome your comments on it! Good reading!

Chapter 8

**Unknown location, 100 light years from previous location.**

In the emptiness of space, several dozen ships suddenly appeared. Immediately the larger one, the heavy carrier _Autumn's Equinox_ launched its entire contingent of _Arrows_ to protect the Civilian Fleet under its protection. After a jump so long that nobody in the Colonial fleet had ever attempted it before, the Civilian fleet was waiting for its faithful protector to rejoin them before continuing on their planned journey toward their new home.

Laura Roslin couldn't help but pray the Gods that everything would be alright. They were on their last leg toward salvation, thanks to the Terran Federation which they were now provisional members and a part of.

Lieutenant Rawthorne, her Terran Federation assistant entered her office and deposed a report on her desk before exiting the same way. The less she could say is that Lieutenant Rawthorne had quickly become a very helpful assistant to help her prepare measures for the future integration of her people into the Terran Federation. While they would be able to remain separate in part from the Terran Federation, she knew that it would be a time of great change for the colonies and that the better prepared to handle such a change, the better she could make the transition for everyone.

From the report Lieutenant Rawthorne just gave her, a hovering city was already finished for their use and was being transported to _New Kobol_, ready for them to inhabit. The only thing left to be installed was the Satellite Security System and the Space Stargate. From the report, the Terran Engineers were ready to proceed as soon as the last satellite exited the assembly while the Stargate would be installed at the arrival of the hovering city . Their estimated time of completion was 2 weeks but fortunately for the 12 colonies the Joints Chiefs of staff of the Terran Federation had decided to assign the 25th fleet to orbit _New Kobol_ and continue their protection until the conclusion of their planetary defenses.

From what she could understand from the technical reports Lieutenant Gaeta made for her the Satellite Defense System was very impressive and even with her limited knowledge she was convinced it would protect the Colonial Remnant. What really made her put her faith behind the protections offered by the Terran Federation was the presence of a Stargate that permitted her people to escape even if planetary defenses failed them as well as bring additional reinforcements from the Terran Federation instantaneously.

Putting the report aside she turned toward the window to contemplate the fate that awaited her. She knew that as the Leader that saved her people she was destined to die before bringing them to safety and with her breast cancer returning more virulent than before she knew she did not have long. She was already making plans for her chosen successor, Lee Adama. That boy had the intelligence, integrity and force of character that would enable him to succeed her and lead their people successfully without bending in front of pressure. While her vice president was still Tom Zarek and next in line for the position, she and he knew that he never had the approval of the larger population as a former Sagittaron Terrorist.

No, Lee Adama was the best candidate and his resignation from the Fleet and his entrance in politics gave her the perfect opportunity to groom him to replace her. It was at times like this that she missed Billy the most. He would have made a perfect candidate to replace Lee as the Caprican representant on the Quorum of Twelve, and his death was such a waste for the colonies.

The other problem she was facing concerned the Final Four Cylons hiding in the Fleet. The idea that Saul Tigh, a veteran of the last Cylon War could be himself a Cylon was so astonishing that the ramifications extended far out of any theory they ever developed on the subject. Unfortunately, Tigh refused to tell them the names of the last Cylons until they were on _New Kobol_ and they had the insurance of being treated fairly. She could accept this but she just hoped that her confidence in him would not be misplaced.

Still centered in her thoughts between past and future, she gazed out in space in the direction from which she thought the _Galactica_ would rejoin them, silently waiting for the return of Bill Adama.

* * *

**Colony of **_**New Jericho**_**, 3 000 light years from **_**Earth**_

The Colony of _New Jericho_ was situated on a world situated 3 000 light-years from _Earth_. It was a colony established in 2079 by Earth and rich in natural resources. New Jericho was a green world, were a dense vegetation with enormous forests covered 35 of the surface and contrary to Earth with only a 45 water coverage of the planet. Since the year 2035 and the law of world preservation voted by the Terran Senate, any resource gathering operation like mining facilities were to be built to preserve the world ecosystem. This was accomplished by using nano technology.

Only 25 in ground cities of 2 million each at maximum existed on New Jericho, the most populous cities were in fact off ground. Since the first habitats capable of housing thousands were created in 2010, the technology was constantly updated and now the Hovering cities of the Terran Federation were one of the more sought after living centers. Literally hovering cities, capable of housing millions and disposing of all the comforts of technology the Terran Federation was allowing for public use, the cities were one of the main sources of revenue for the Federation for trade with its allies. The Cities themselves were not flying, as many people thought, but were using anti gravity generators to stay afloat in the air. A standard hovering City was 30 kilometers in radius and circular in shape. It was equipped with an energy shield used primarily for transportation purposes when towed by the Carriers ships in hyperspace and also for defensive purposes.

The New Jericho ship yards were more commonly known in the Terran Federation as one of the production facilities for the Terran Federation Space Navy and Space Troopers. It was mainly specialized in the production of Star Bases used by the Terran Space Troopers. Each Star Base was 10 Kilometer in radius and 6 kilometer in high. It was equipped with a heavy shield capable to withstand several hits from a heavy laser canon like the ones on a _Dreadnaught_ as well as multiple particle cannons and drones platforms for armament. A contingent of a thousand _Arrows_ was stationed on each base for patrols of their selected areas as well as a large contingent of marines and Special Forces ready to deploy for actions via _Marauders_, _Fisher_ or _Grand Fisher_ class of ships or by the Stargate installed in every Base.

But right now the most awaited event was the christening of the new Star Base, SB _Sea of tranquility_, ready to be deployed for its new assignment. Originally planned for deployment in the Pegasus Galaxy, SB _Sea of Tranquility_ was chosen to represent the Terran Federation's interests for the Cyrannus Sector and to act as a frontier guard in case of an attack from the Cylons.

While the Cylons were not at the level of technology of the Federation, they represented an unknown variable in the strategic defense net of the Federation and the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to prepare the border in case of an incursion en masse. Like they learned with the Alteran/ Wraith war an enemy might be inferior technologically but he was still an enemy and must be dealt with or risk a future threat.

The Star Base _Sea of Tranquility_ was ready to jump in hyperspace to rejoin her new sector of control and start her assigned mission of surveillance and study of the Cyrannus Sector by the deployment of Special Forces on several Colonies.

The new commanding Officer of _SB Sea of Tranquility_, General Mathews, stood in his office overlooking the central plaza of the Military Headquarters of his base. He was dressed in his Terran Federation Space Troopers uniform watching the men and women of his new command and their families milling about after the inauguration ceremony. On his personal holo screen were displayed his orders as well as the last inventory they were waiting for.

Contrary to what the Colonials believed, the Terran Federation Intelligence Services were aware of the Cylon threat of possible infiltration. But contrary to the colonials this threat was not a major one for the Terran Federation were every key system was genetically coded. No, the Cylon utilization of agents was not a problem but presented more of an opportunity.

Since the discovery of the Asgard minds in the core they gifted the Terran Federation and their help since then as ships avatars, the Federation incorporated in its constitution a law that stated that the development of technology capable of helping the Asgards regain their civilization would be a priority. And the analysis of the Cylon agents provided that opportunity.

The ability of the Cylon skin jobs to download their mind in a new body was something that the Asgard were able to master for their unique physiology but that the Terran Federation were never able to apply to human physiology.

The human Body was similar in appearance to the pre cloning period of the Asgard history and with modifications to accommodate for the superior intellect and memories of an Asgard, might be compatible as new host for the Asgard consciousness.

From this analysis of the Cylons capabilities a mission objective was added to the mission of exploration and rescue of the Cyrannus sector: the localization and capture of a Cylon _Resurrection _ship for study of the Cylon Bio-Technology.

* * *

**Outer Edge of the System, Cylon staging ****ground**

The strike fleet appeared directly in front of the Cylon Fleet, surprising them in their final preparations for their attack on the colonial remnants and their protectors.

As they appeared, Admiral Delterre ordered the fire of the Heavy Laser on each Base Star of the Cylon Attack Force while the _General's Glory_ would remain cloaked on the other side ready to intervene if necessary. With the combined firepower of 4 Dreadnoughts, the involvement of the _General's Glory_ in this battle was not immediately necessary and the added protection to the Civilians onboard was decided.

Immediately the Dreadnoughts _Pyrrhus Victory_ and _Angelus Choir_ of the 14th Squadron and the _Ascension_ and _Carter's Genius_ from the 195th squadron opened fire each on their nearest opponent. 4 Base Stars were hit simultaneously and exploded in balls of fire as they were speared by the high energy weapon. Without any shielding technology protecting them from energy weapons, the Cylons became easy targets for the strike force.

Recovering from the stupor caused by the sudden emergence of the Terrans in front of them, 6 Base stars Jumped away in hurry while several others launched their contingent of Raiders. These Raiders jumped straight away to attack the Terran Strike Force, therefore implementing the strategy devised by their masters, keeping a mobile front and running suicide runs on the Terrans Ships by trying to bypass their shields and detonate their nuclear ordinance.

While this strategy might have worked before due to the typical configuration of energy shields on Terran ships, this time would be different. Typically any energy shield is configured to surround the ship in a bubble, leaving large area of space where small attack ships could appear using the Colonial Jump Drive, this configuration had the advantage of diffusing the kinetic energy released by the impacts against the shield far from the ship and reducing the collateral damage. However due to the study of the last battle against the Cylons, Admiral Delterre ordered the corps of engineers to recalibrate the shields aboard every ship as to fit more tightly and clear the pockets of space.

However that tactic had a down side. As the shield was tightly surrounding the ship, the kinetic energy was transmitted directly to the hull and could cause damage to the Terran ships. But this was a risk they were willing to take if it meant the success of their assault on the Cylon force.

While waiting for the Heavy Laser to recharge, the Dreadnoughts deployed their contingent of drones to attack the rest of the Cylon fleet, concentrating their fire on the _Raiders_ to swat them out from space. The glowing drones, buzzing like angry bees coming out to defend their Queen, were destroying _Raiders_ and _Heavy Raiders_ left and right while they jumped and reappeared in Kamikaze runs against the Dreadnoughts.

Already 8 Base Stars had been destroyed and 6 had jumped away to safety or maybe worse to attack the Galactica. The strike for the moment was a success with no casualties on their side but admiral Delterre didn't want to leave the Galactica and the remnant fleet without protection even if the remnant fleet was out of reach of the Cylon Fleet.

Looking to the side at an opened mouthed Lieutenant Gaeta, staring unashamedly at the Hologram representing the operation theater with a real time view of space, Admiral Delterre ordered Commander Peng to de-cloak the _Glory _and to open fire at will. Immediately giving the adequate orders on the Bridge, the Officer responsible for the Drone platform activated his chair and entered the virtual reality of his targeting systems. On the other side of the Bridge, the Tactical Officer selected the targets for the Heavy Lasers and fired on 2 Basestars simultaneously destroying them in the process.

As the Basestars were destroyed by the Lasers from the _General's Glory_, the Cylon leaders realized that they had already lost the battle and had next to no chance to escape if they did not do so immediately.

The tactical officer was on the process of selecting new targets for his Heavy Lasers when suddenly the last 4 Basestars, 2 of them heavily damaged, jumped to safety.

Seeing that the operation was a success, Admiral Delterre ordered the _Pyrrhus Victory_ and the _Angelus Choir_ to plot a course in hyperspace for the Remnant Colonial Fleet to provide support to the Heavy Carrier _Autumn's Equinox_ while he ordered the _Carter's Genius_ and the _Ascension_ to rejoin the Heavy Carrier _Avatar of Hope_ protecting the Galactica. But as he gave his orders he received the first reports from the _Avatar of Hope_. 4 Basestars had jumped and attacked with their contingent of _Raiders _the _Galactica,_ not even trying to launch an assault on the Heavy Carrier, probably hoping to strike hard and fast at this last bastion of Colonial Military before jumping away.

For the Admiral, the Cylons new strategy became quite clear. In the face of an overwhelming opponent they choose a guerilla tactic, in that way imitating the Colonial Remnants.

Turning towards Lieutenant Gaeta, still trying to follow the action occurring in front of him as the _Glory _was clearing the last pockets of Raiders remaining, he launched a quick look examining the young Colonial Officer. The boy was sharp; he would give him that but still carried an air of wonderment and naivety around him like an overexcited scientist. However he also detected something very hard in this boy, like something had been broken in him, something that had shaken his world and confidence. But he was still young, barely 30 years old which was quite young by Terran Federation standards.

What the Colonials had not yet discovered or more appropriately realized as all the information was given to them, was that the average lifespan of a Terran Citizen due to the genetic enhancements developed in conjunction with the Nox, was at the least of 180 years for the moment. Several scientists had theorized that as more generations passed the Genetic enhancements would fortify themselves and could permit an even longer life while facilitating a resurgence of the Alteran powers witnessed in several rare individuals. Currently, the chances for emergence of one type of power in the new Terran Generation was 1 in 10 000 but Geneticists were hoping for a 1 in a 1000 ratio in less than 300 years.

Clearing his throat he called M. Gaeta to him" Lieutenant, as of now we are on standby in position to detect and intercept any Cylon ship wishing to help the attack on the Galactica while the rest of the fleet take a more active role. Furthermore the Glory will continue for the next 3 hours the analysis of the debris field from this battle. Nothing really exiting I'm afraid. I would like for you in the mean time to rejoin the city zone and inspect your people on board so that you can give both President Roslin and Admiral Adama a detailed report. You are dismissed."

Saluting after receiving his orders, Lieutenant Gaeta left the Bridge heading towards the nearest Beam Globe to his destination.

Admiral Delterre finally detached his eyes from the young colonial officer and turned toward the holographic display in front of him detailing the position of his forces against the remnants of the Cylon Attack Force as well as a deep scan of the surrounding space. No planets of this system were able to sustain life, mostly gas giants, making this system not really interesting in an economic or strategic way for the Terran Federation. Either way from what he heard from his superiors, the Federation was ready to make their presence known in the Cyrannus Galaxy by appointing a Terran Star Base for this sector which was almost overkill against the Cylon Armada but provided the opportunity to cut time in exploring the 12 colonies for survivors.

Soon the 25th fleet would help the Colonial Fleet relocate to their new world and then continue their mission of exploration, and the Admiral had a feeling his next mission would involve the Cyrannus System.

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_**, Orbiting the Uninhabitable Moon of a Gas Giant.**

The repairs were almost completed. Thanks to the Terran Engineers, the Cold Fusion Reactors were online and provided almost double the power the Tylium Generators provided before while taking half the space and did not need any fuel to function.

The parts for the new Jump Drive were being tested as well before fully bringing them online in the system in coordination with a new navigational computer provided by the Terrans with a powerful firewall and even disconnected from any network offered a calculation power 1 000 times more powerful than the latest Colonial Navigation Computers installed aboard the Mercury Class Battlestar.

From what Captain Kelly told him, the new Computer permitted the Galactica to jump with almost a full 100 certainty and to the meter which was unheard of in the Colonial history.

Moreover, the factories aboard the _General's Glory_ had provided them with new armor plating for the hull in an unknown alloy, so hard that M. Tyrol had doubts a nuclear explosion might damage it, and so light that only a team of 2 was necessary to install it instead of the usual 10 men team, drastically reducing the repairs time.

All in all, the _Galactica_ was even more powerful than the time it exited the Picon Headquarters 40 years before.

But right now, Bill Adama was worried.

The Engineers were finalizing the last adjustments to the Jump drive and no Cylon Base stars were detected by the DRADIS and even if they were attacked even without the means to escape, they still had the protection from the Heavy Carrier _Avatar of Hope_ and his impressive contingent of _Arrows_.

No what worried him were more the consequences of the revelations his old friend Colonel Tigh would spring on them when they would rejoin _New Kobol_.

Even now, he still could not wrap his mind around the fact that his oldest and best friend could be a Cylon Skin Job. More importantly if the Cylons had the technology at the time of his first meeting with Tigh, then it meant that every one was a suspect and not only new faces.

Preparing to leave his quarters in direction to the CIC he was startled to hear the PA with the voice of Lieutenant Dualla announcing a DRADIS contact and requesting his presence.

After running to rejoin the CIC in time he asked Captain Kelly for a Status Report while at the same time fixing his eyes on the DRADIS overhead displays.

Kelly came standing in front of the Admiral, reporting everything in a calm manner "Sir, the DRADIS just detected 4 Basestars that jumped ahead of us in our previously known position, and deployed several hundred raiders to attack us. Apparently they did not detect the _Avatar of Hope_ and Rear Admiral Trodat decided to use this to her advantage by cloaking her ship to deploy her Arrows directly on top of them while the Basestars deploy their Raiders against us. I ordered the deployment of the Vipers and to ready the main batteries to fire immediately as soon as the Cylons enter our range of fire. The _Avatar _is almost ready to launch her _Arrows_ and report that 2 of the Base stars are severely damaged, a result I think of the Strike by Admiral Delterre."

Nodding to Kelly, the Admiral turned toward Lieutenant Dualla" Dee, did Colonel Tigh give an update on the repairs on the Jump Drive?"

"Yes Sir, he called when he heard the PA to announce that he thinks the drive would be ready in 30 minutes give or take. But since the drive is still in the test phase he recommends making only a small jump first for test before trying a jump towards the fleet."

"Very well, send a message to our birds to not engage the Raiders until they pose a threat, no need to make them perceive us as a threat and attack us before we are ready. We might gain a few minutes like that to help Tigh finish is repairs. Let the _Avatar_ deal with them, they are better equipped to handle such a number of Raiders."

Returning his gaze toward the DRADIS monitors he watched the situation unravel.

* * *

**Space,** **Orbiting the Uninhabitable Moon of a Gas Giant.**

The Base Stars approached at maximum speed toward the Galactica, confident in their victory against an immobile and inferior opponent, watching him deploy his contingent of Vipers against the swarm of Raiders that opposed them.

As they were ready to open fire onto the _Galactica_, almost a hundred Raiders suddenly exploded in balls of flames under the fire seemingly from nowhere.

At this moment hell fire rained on all of their forces, decimating their Raiders as small ships appeared, targeting their Raiders and Capital ships.

On their sensors, a massive ship appeared behind, dwarfing them in size with its crescent shape. The Base Stars, seeing their new opponent turned their main canon toward the newest arrival and opened fire, momentarily forgetting the _Galactica _in the face of this enemy they now recognized as a Terran Ship only to be again astonished to see their target protected by an energy shield.

Like a swarm of angry bees protecting their queen, 2 formations of 50 Arrows attacked the 2 damaged Base Stars, finishing them in a green rain of laser fire while the Raiders resorted to their Kamikaze tactics but failed thanks to the point defense laser system installed in the _Avatar of Hope_.

The _Arrows _were making quick work of the remaining raiders engaging them in dog fights and overcoming them with their lasers while their projectile weapons were shrugged off by the small but very fast and maneuverable ships fighters.

Overcome by the Laser bolts raining on him by the 150 Arrows that had taken him for target, one of the last Base Stars lights turned dark and stopped maneuvering when his power generators were stroked. The last Base Star, seeing his companion disabled decided to cut his losses and jump when he was suddenly attacked from behind by the forgotten _Galactica_ which opened his batteries against him. Caught in between two fires, the last Base Star was destroyed, his Tylium factory leaking Tylium in his systems and igniting in one final explosion.

With the last Raiders destroyed by the _Arrows_, the area was finally secured and the mop up could begin commencing with the disabled Cylon Base Star, a potential mine of information for the Terran Federation on the operations of the Cylon Armada and for the study of their technologies.

* * *

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_**, Orbiting the Uninhabitable Moon of a Gas Giant.**

After the destruction of the last Base Star, Admiral Adama called the _Avatar of Hope_ to speak with its commanding officer, Rear Admiral Trodat.

"Admiral, congratulations on your victory. Your _Arrows_ are really impressive fighters and as an old Viper pilot I think I can speak in the name of my pilots to say that we wouldn't mind a little ride in one of them."

Voice filled with mirth, Rear Admiral Trodat responded "Thank you Admiral, I will forward your congratulations to my pilots. And I am sure a ride could be organized for your pilots as soon as we arrive in New Kobol. What are your options now?"

"Colonel Tigh informed me that the Jump Drive is finally operational we will first try a small jump near your position then if everything is alright plan a long range jump toward our Fleet."

"Very well Admiral, I will wait for your first jump then we will both jump toward your fleet. Trodat out."

Turning toward Captain Kelly, he ordered the first jump to begin.

The familiar feeling of the jump drive engaging his engines was felt by everyone onboard as the ship disappeared from his spot to reappear not far from the _Avatar of Hope_ on the other side of the system in a blink of light.

Tuning out the cheering that exploded in the CIC at the successful jump, he was ready to re contact the _Avatar of Hope_ when the DRADIS detected the arrival of 2 ships near the _Avatar_, identified as Terran Dreadnoughts soon after.

Contacting Admiral Trodat he informed her of his successful jump and confirmed proceeding as planned with his next jump toward the Remnant Fleet. Admiral Trodat confirmed to him that they would follow them in Hyper Space as soon as they had confirmation that the jump was successful.

Ordering the next jump that would reunite them with their people he crossed his fingers waiting for the familiar sensation of the jump drive.

* * *

**Unknown location, 100 light years from previous location.**

Where before resided only the emptiness of space suddenly appeared the Galactica, protector of the Colonial Remnant Fleet. As soon as the ship materialized in front of the Fleet a cheer almost heard in space echoed in every ship witnessing this event waited by everyone. The Civilian Fleet, even under the protection of the Terran Fleet felt naked without the familiar presence of the _Galactica_ at their side silently shielding them.

As soon as the ship appeared, _Colonial One_, seat of the government was moving under the orders of the President Laura Roslin to enter the massive hangar bay of the _Galactica_.

Entering the Hangar she came in front of Admiral William Adama standing at attention with his command crew and welcomed him and his crew back in the fleet after almost a week of absence. The cheer from the crew temporarily deafened her as she gazed warmly at everyone standing close to William Adama.

Turning toward each other she signaled him to lead the way so that they could begin a more private meeting on what happened during their absence. They departed the hangar, leaving the crew rejoicing and headed toward his private quarters while simultaneously signaling his command crew to accompany them.

They arrived 10 minutes later, and immediately started reporting to the president the improvements made to the _Galactica _following the repairs and the new equipment provided by the Terran Federation. Needless to say the President was impressed and more than ever sure of the decision they had made to join the Terran Federation.

Finalizing the meeting they received the report from the CIC of the arrival of the 195th squadron and the _General's Glory_. Hearing this information they decided to not postpone further the last leg of their journey and to make preparation to start the jump procedure towards _New Kobol_ and their new future. The longer they stayed in a system the more chance the Cylons had to found them and while they still had the protection of the 25th Fleet, they preferred to not tempt the gods by being foolish.

* * *

**1 week later, in orbit around **_**New Kobol**_**.**

It was a vast world, filled with life in its great forests and oceans. A large structure was orbiting the planet, one of the newest Hovering Cities delivered from Vis Uban 2 days before. A team was currently installing a Space Stargate used for transportation by ships not equipped with a hyper space drive.

The Stargate Network had greatly changed since the end of the Goa'oulds and the creation of the Terran Federation. While before Stargates were left unprotected from unwanted visitors, the Terran Federation needed a way to secure the Stargate of their member worlds and allies from external threat without housing the Stargate in a military facility like done previously. Taking a page from the book of one of their enemies, Anubis, the Terran Scientist replicated the security system from the planet where he conducted his genetic experiments by introducing the necessity to provide a code to dial the gate or being redirected to another world. In addition to this security measure, every place were a Stargate was installed was equipped with sensors detecting weapons and a special field disabling them inspired by the Tollan. The Space Stargates were protected by the Satellite System that also protected the planet. If the Satellites detected any unusual activity it would target the Stargate and could eventually destroy it.

As the Technicians were finishing the installation of the Stargate several dozen ships appeared in orbit of the planet startling the technicians in regaining their ship.

Minutes later a hyper space window opened throwing out the 25th Fleet next to the previous fleet making space in orbit of the planet rather crowed with more than 50 ships.

Onboard every Colonial ship, images of their new world appeared in front of them. The Hovering city still in orbit waiting for their arrival appeared gigantic in comparison to the Galactica and marveled people as they could see through the transparent shield the buildings tall and small with many individual houses and gardens doting the City.

Faced with such wonders only one thought echoed in the mind of each colonial survivor: We are Home.

* * *

Terran Star Base: 

The Terran Star Base is a heavily fortified fortress placed in deep space missions where a constant military presence is needed.

Since the Terran Federation was always reticent in the idea of placing military installations in inhabited planets, the Star bases were designed to be totally independent resource wise and fully capable to defend itself without the need for the Terran Federation to maintain a fleet in proximity.

The Star Base has a diameter of 20 kilometers with a height of 6 kilometers arrayed in several plateaus, each one delimited for a specific purpose as well as several hangars capable to repair a Dreadnought Size Ship. The Star base, like the Dreadnoughts poses a living zone where the civilian and military personnel and their families live with every comfort available (artificial sunlight, gardens, artificial lakes, markets …). A Stargate is also present in the Star Base.

The Star Base possesses a shield as powerful as the ones protecting the City Ships. The Star Base as a limited capability to move excepting hyperspace generators.

It is powered by three ZPM with several spares left in storage in case of emergency.

For a visual, imagine a double sided City Ship in the form of a circle, not a snow flake. Double sided meaning that both sides of the base plateau is used instead of one side in the case of the City Ships.

Capacity:

-live zone: 200 000

-Training camp and Troopers barracks: 150 000

Armament:

-16 drone Platforms

-22 ion particle cannons

-Contingent of 1 000 Arrows

-Contingent of 500 Puddle Jumpers

-Contingent of 2 Grand Fishers ships

-Contingent of 20 Fishers Ships

-Contingent of 100 Marauders Ships

Personnel:

-100 000 Terran Space Troopers

-2 000 Terran Special Forces

Terran Space Troopers: 

-Combat Gear: Form fitting suit with armor resistant to energy and projectile weapons on the torso, legs and shoulders. Helmet with breathing apparatus in the mask to filter gazes and augment the oxygen income for the trooper.

Left armband equipped with a shield generator as well as a nanite system which augments the physical attributes of the trooper by 3 and help for his injuries.

Right armband equipped with an energy weapon with multiple settings from low for stunning to High for enemy bombardment.

Each piece is genetically coded for Terran Space Troopers personnel.

Uniform: Dark Brown Leather vest with Khakis pants and grade insignias displayed on the shoulders.

Terran Special Forces:

The Special Forces are a special unit reserved for operations in enemy and unknown territory. Their missions have multiple objectives from exploration to infiltration without any limit of time. Their training is very specific as they are not only trained in combat operations but also in diplomacy, galactic history, archeology and technologies.

They use the same gear as the Terran Space Troopers but their armbands have some amelioration like a phase module and shoulder pads that contain concealable weapons, in one a small plasma canon and a particle canon in the other. More, their helmet is equipped with a sensor system capable to map their surroundings as well as detect any life forms in 100 meters.

They wear a red version of the Terran Space Trooper Uniform as well as their combat gear which gave them the nickname of "Red Ghosts".

Vis Uban :

At the end of this chapter there is mention of the planet Vis Uban from where is coming the Hovering City. Vis Uban is the planet where the Alteran were planning to build their new capital destined to be the crown jewel of their empire but unfortunately it's also the place where the plague struck first and Vis Uban was lost before even being completed.

SG1 re discovered the city from the ancient list of address Colonel O'Neill entered in the base computer and planned a trap for Anubis there.

A Colony was established there in 2025 after the complete exploration of the ruins of the city. Currently the Colony is home for a billion people, part from earth but also from several member world of the Terran Federation as well as the many refugees from the different wars.

Vis Uban is known for its orbital industrial complex specialized in the fabrication of Hovering Cities and its Academy for the training of new recruits for the Terran Space Navy.


	10. Chapter 9

AN: Sorry for the wait, lot of work and not much time. Enjoy and as always I welcome your reviews.

Chapter 9

_**Kobol,**_** Cyrannus System, Beyond the Red Line**

The green plains of Kobol were the setting of an unusual scene. After millennia's without any human presence on the former birth planet of the Colonial people, the last years presented an increase in activity never seen before for the animals living in its green forests.

Crouched in the dense vegetations covering the remains of what was once a great monument to the glory of the Gods was a man donned in a red form fitting suit and black armor examining some of the inscriptions that survived the terrible disaster that befell Kobol 4 000 years ago.

Moving some of the lichen covered pieces of stone in front of him the man was able to finally shine a light on the inside of the stone column rising ahead, displaying the control interfaces of the panel. Replacing some crystals in their proper position and connecting one of the portable Naquadah reactors he was equipped with, he was able to finally reactivate the relic he was working on, a very old ring platform probably installed by the Ancients when they settled on Kobol. Thankfully, Ancient technology was a very durable and even after hundreds of thousands of years was still able to function as they were intended by their original creators.

Finally fully recharged, the Non Commissioned Officer of the Terran Special Forces launched the diagnostic and test system of the ring platform, hoping to reveal its location at the same time, as the detailed scans established by the _Marauder _Class Ship orbiting the planet were only able to detect a vague trace of it since its power module was depleted. As he put the final crystal in place, a loud sound characteristic of a ring activating was heard, revealing its position to the Special Forces team of the sector.

As a decision of the Terran President and in full accordance with the treaty signed with the 12 Colonies of Kobol, the Terran Army was authorized to start operations of exploration of the Cyrannus System as well as the rescue of all remaining Colonial People remaining in system with their relocation to New Kobol. To accomplish that objective, the Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered the deployment of a _Star Base_ in the Area to conduct diverse operations. From there, 6 _Marauders_ for each colony and Kobol, with their full party of Special Forces personnel, were dispatched to evaluate the situation before the deployment of troops on the ground via _Fisher_ and _Grand Fisher_ ships.

Team Delta Omicron Kappa of the Terran Special Forces was one of the 3 teams deployed from _Marauder_ 13 of the _Star Base_ _Sea of Tranquility_ in the last week on Kobol for a general search and evaluation of the sector of the planet with detailed scan of the ruins of ancients temples dedicated to the Greek and Colonial Gods. The 4 man team was presently attempting to reactivate several key systems capable to bring them to unexplored levels of the temple, and maybe discover what might be hidden there as their highly advanced scanners were incapable of showing several areas, probably placed behind a shield. Which brought the question: if several of the levels were protected by shielding technology, what was concealed there that needed such a protection?

And this was exactly the type of missions where the Special Forces Teams excelled. Formed from the best men and women of the Terran Space Troopers, the Special Forces were trained in diplomacy, languages, history and technology so that they could become the spear of the Terran Federation and represent them In first contact situations and still be able to defend themselves against impossible odds. Their standard equipment was rather different from the conventional get up of the Space Trooper. They wore a skin tight red uniform covered by Black Armor pieces for the legs, forearms, Shoulders, and pectorals in an alloy resistant to both energy and projectile weapons. Their Head was protected by a Black helmet with a mirror faceplate of the same material, retractable to the neck, becoming thus invisible when retracted. Furthermore their armament was more powerful, oriented for both covert operations as well as combat under heavy fire. But what gave them the nickname of "Red Ghosts" was not from their capacity for violence but their ability to disappear from sight at will and reappear unexpectedly thanks to their Phase modules.

Constituted of 4 men Teams, each _Marauder_ was able to deliver 3 Teams on their designated drop zone while remaining in stealth mode high in the atmosphere ready to be called if need be by one of the Teams.

At the same time as the _Marauders_ were deployed for their reconnaissance mission, General Mathews was deploying his squadrons of Hyper Space capable _Puddle_ _Jumpers_ to install a series of space rings in orbit of each Colony and Kobol to facilitate the operations that will be occurring in the new resident system of the _Star Base_ _Sea of Tranquility_. Unfortunately, the Stargates being installed could not be used to evacuate the population from the planets as they needed to be brought in the Stargate Network by creating from the ground up first a network reserved for the Cyrannus System then updating each Stargate with the addresses of the new system.

Several Cylon Basestars had been seen patrolling the sector among the floating debris from the slaughter that occurred when the Cylon decimated the Colonial Armada with its Virus but due to orders from the General, every ship set out was cloaked and invisible to Cylon DRADIS.

Each ring was protected by a shield and able to phase shift in case of emergency. So much protection for a Stargate might seem overkill, but the necessary materials and cost involved in the creation of just one ring made them a precious resource for the Terran Federation.

The _Star Base_ was to be the Beachhead for the Terran Federation in the Cyrannus Sector. From there, and after the deployment of Stargates, the _Arrows _squadrons based on the _Star Base_ would lead the fight against the Cylons Basestars in the evacuation of the colonies of Kobol from their remaining inhabitants.

Stepping toward the ring area near the temple, the Red ghosts Team prepared itself to transport to the inner chambers of the temple and discover what kind of secret might be hidden by this level of protection.

* * *

_**New Kobol**_**, Milky Way Galaxy, **

The prophecies were true. That was all that mattered to the more religious colonial people. But to others this truth was more convoluted that they thought it would be.

The Scroll of Pythia, one of the more revered religious texts inherited from the Kobolian Gods, talked of the road to Earth, of the dangers involved in their journey and the signs that would guide them. It also foretold the death of their leader before he or she could see the accomplishment of their journey. The Sacred Scrolls were right.

Sick from a long time, and having made her peace with the destiny that awaited her, President Laura Roslin died of her breast cancer 100 light years, the last jump, from New Kobol. However what the Scroll of Pythia did not foretold for she could not imagine such an occurrence happening, was that the death of the Leader would be only temporary. The Terran Federation, after years of research in the Alterans medical technology and the antibodies granted to the Goa'ould human hosts, was able to synthesize a cure for virtually any type of cancer. However that cure required the total shutdown of the human body, in effect killing the patient for several hours, while its major organs were preserved in cryogenic suspension.

Laura Roslin did die, for several hours, but was revived free of her cancer and ready to began a new life.

But Laura Roslin was first and foremost a teacher. Now that the safety of her people was guaranteed, she stepped down from her post as President of the twelve colonies of Kobol the day of the inauguration of the new capital of New Kobol, New Colonia. Her vice president, the man she formed herself to replace her and in her opinion had the strength and intelligence necessary to direct them for a better future, replaced her as President, Lee Adama.

The installation into their new city came with a great relief to the people of the 12 colonies of Kobol. After years of running they were able to finally rest and restart their society without the threat of the Cylons. The city by itself was incredible: the seat of the government was situated in the middle with offices setup with every luxury they enjoyed in Caprica City and more.

Contrary to what they were accustomed to, The Terran Federation did not rely on personal motorization but developed a vast network of teleportation pad that were able to move people instantly from one pad to another just by saying the name of the destination pad.

Evidently this system made the colonial people at first very nervous but after a week of use the general population was comfortable with the transition.

The response regarding the new habitations available to the Colonial people was enthusiastic as the community discovered it. While the layout and basic decoration of the living quarters of the city was standardized the buildings themselves differed greatly from one another and provided a needed sense of individuality. Furthermore the walls and floors of the residential areas could be customized in their color via a simple request to the building administrator.

The general hospital, headed by Major Cottle and aided by several civilians doctors, was partially crewed but equipped with the latest medical technology developed by the Terran Federation.

Finally the City was placed inside the stratosphere over a large plot of land where several agricultural facilities were being constructed to further the independence of their needs.

Overall the installation was a success even despite the fact that several individuals were not happy. Most notably among those were the diverse crime lords that fought to conserve their marginal power. But with the abundance of products arriving from the Federation at very low prices, their influence was melting like snow under the sun and the new Colonial Police Force recruited from the Marine contingent aboard the Galactica was able to hunt them down.

No, the more vocal people were the Cylon haters, asking to take the fight back in the colonies against the Cylons. While their intentions were good, they used no shred of common sense by suggesting that the Galactica jump back to the Colonies aided in that endeavor by the Terran Federation technology, technology they would acquire at any cost, going as far as steal it from Terran Federation ships.

These kind of thoughts were quickly nipped in the bud by the president with the liberal use of the press and the re assurance from the Terran Federation authorities residing in their embassy that any attempt would be largely ineffectual as the key systems of the Terran Federation were coded with markers. Any stolen technology could be located, beamed and the culprits therefore identified.

The Galactica and its crew, after years of faithful service were able to retire. The crew notably the deck hands and enlisted people were freed of the military life and allowed to seek any job in the civilian sectors. Many of the Pilots engaged in the new civilian transport service that needed any experienced pilots for transit of goods and people on the new home world.

The Galactica itself, having fought countless battles against superior foes and without the ability to affect repairs in a dry dock finally gave out. The jump drive, recycled from one of the abandoned ships, blew itself out after having been used well above its recommended settings. Its hull almost entirely pockmarked with missile hits needed a complete overhaul and the replacement of almost every armored plate.

However the decision was made to salvage the Galactica, not as a ship, but as a space station by permanently extending its port nacelles and redesigning its interior in more spacious quarters and training facilities.

The training facilities would be used for the training of the New Kobol Police Force and the pilots still needed to maintain a Combat Air Patrol around the planet. For while the new defenses provided by the Terran Federation WERE impressive, Admiral William Adama still preferred to be safer than sorry, a lesson he learned well on New Caprica.

More the CIC was converted in a control tower for the whole system allowing the planet to start operations of exploration for minerals and resources. Updated with the Terran Federation scanners capable to detect every ship in a 100 light years radius and equipped with a subspace communication array allowing them to stay in real live contact with any team working in space.

The Stargate itself was a godsend for the people of the 12 colonies. For so long restrained to their ships with their only human contact available limited, the idea of thousands of worlds habitable and contactable in the Milky Way galaxy astounded them. Already several groups had been issued authorizations to visit several worlds, regular historical and vacations sites for the Terran Federation like the planet Vis Uban with its remains of the old Alteran City or New Fiji a world covered with archipelagos of isles with a preserved natural environment.

Finally, after discovering their true nature only some weeks before, the Final Four Cylons surrendered themselves to Admiral Adama. After verifications of their intentions via lie detector and the removal of any hidden programming in their subconscious the Final Four were liberated in the Colonial population, their identity as Cylon having been carefully kept secret from everyone except the top level of command. Saul Tigh exiled himself on the surface, living in a small cabin in the woods and selling the products of his hunt. Galen Tyrol became an engineer for a company of transport which needed his expertise as the "fixer" of old ships on the _Galactica._ Sam Anders launched a Pyramid League trying to recreate the sport that was all his life before the holocaust and Tory Foster stayed with former president Laura Roslin and became a teacher.

All in all, the entry of the 12 colonies of Kobol into the Terran Federation was very well received and the Colonial government was anxiously waiting for the first reports coming from the missions conducted in the Cyrannus System by the Terran Space Troopers.

* * *

_**Virgon**_**, Cyrannus system**

They were hiding in an old abandoned lead mine far into the Virgon desert and the targets of the Cylons bombardment. After the Cylon Attacked the Fleet and the first reports of the surrender offered by President Adar, several officials of the Virgon government started to look for exit strategies for their people to survive knowing that, if the military ships from the Colonial Fleet could not withstand the Cylon armada, then civilian ships would be even less likely to survive an encounter with a Cylon Basestar. A decision was then made to select a remote place to hide the civilian population and wait for a rescue. But even before the plan was able to start it was nipped in the bud by the nuclear assault of their cities from orbit. Fortunately several key people in the know of the plan were able to live on to guide the survivors to safety. Taking everything they could on their back and in trucks, they made it to an old abandoned lead mine, capable to protect them from the radiations and extensive enough to hide comfortably the 120 000 Virgons.

Maintaining a radio watch to listen to any news they could catch, hoping for a signal from their comrades of life outside their natural bunker, but after 4 years without any news they were losing optimism that any rescue would come and already many of them thought they were the last of the Colonies.

Only one day something changed.

High in orbit over the planet, a cloaked _Marauder_ class ship was slowly scanning the Virgon world for a sign of human life. The sophisticated scanners onboard of a _Marauder_ were not sensible enough to pick a life sign behind an entire compound made of lead. However the mines were not perfect in their homogeneity and several thousand life signs were able to be detected as well as several others hundred all over Virgon.

This scenario was reproduced on almost every world of the 12 Colonies except Caprica.

While Caprica was the most heavily populated planet of all the Colonies as the seat of the Colonial Government, it was also the prime target for the Cylon attack and the only planet they occupied in the former colonies. While several hundred survivors could be detected on Caprica, most situated in internment camps, the main population had probably been killed in the nuclear assault.

Far into the desert of Virgon, a 4 man team appeared in front of an assortment of rock outcroppings hiding the entrance of the lead mine. They started their advance toward the mouth of the mine, carefully looking for any sign of recent activity.

As they were almost arrived to the entrance, one of them lifted his hand to the side of his helmeted head signaling for his team to stop their advance. Turning his head toward a patch rocks to the side of the mine's entrance he spoke out:

"Please show yourself we know you are here. We mean you no harm. We are not Cylons."

From behind some rocks, dressed in some kind of old uniforms, probably members of a law enforcement organization emerged 3 young men and an older woman. All of them were pointing hand held weapons at them and appeared terrified.

The Woman spoke, showing herself as the leader "Who are you? What tells me you are not some kind of new Cylon Model? How did you found us?"

Lifting his two arms at head level to show that he was not armed the Special Forces soldier answered her. "My name is Sergeant Major Herman Hicks of the Terran Federation Special Forces. We are here in a reconnaissance and rescue operation to help any survivors of the 12 colonies of Kobol. I am Human and I can prove it to you if you let me take out my helmet."

Frowning in thought and slowly advancing on him the woman calmly yet rapidly closed down the distance, leaving her 3 younger subordinates to cover her from a distance, ready to sound the alert if anything happened to her. As she stepped in front of him, her face reflecting in the visor of his helmet she answered him. "Tell me how and I will do it Do not make any move. And while I do that you will answer some of my questions. What is the Terran Federation you say you come from? How many of you are here? And how did you know we were there?"

"On the right side of my neck is a push button, do you see it? Yes right here push it three times in a row, slowly. It will retract my helmet in my armor."

As she obeyed his instructions, Virgon Police Lieutenant Carmel Vanens couldn't help but notice the way each of these strangers were moving. Each step measured, calm, without any itch or hesitation. Like if they had foretold every aspect of the situation like prophets and already knew the outcome. She finally found the small button and with a look toward her men, she pushed it three times.

Startled by the way the helmet retracted and disappeared like it never existed in the first place inside the neck of the armor the man in front of her wore, she took two steps back. Holding her weapon a little firmer while she inspected his face.

He started to speak anew continuing his responses to her inquiries; "The Terran Federation is a federation of planets situated in the Milky Way galaxy, approximately 30 000 light years from the Cyrannus System. Our founding planet is Earth. We are here after a successful contact with a fleet of the remnants of the colonial people which we rescued from the Cylons and offered asylum in the Terran Federation. After their entrance into the Federation, the Terran Space Troopers, our army started a reconnaissance and rescue mission to evaluate the danger the Cylon posed and rescue any survivors of the Holocaust. Our ship detected several thousand survivors hiding in this mine and we decided to make contact. Did I satisfy your curiosity? And can we see someone in charge please?"

Still examining the face of the man in front of her, Carmel Vanens hesitated before finally nodding to him. "Your men will stay here, we will allow you to come alone and unarmed. If anything happens inside, your men will be the first to pay the price. Are we clear?"

"Cristal Ma'am."

Nodding to his men, Sergeant Major Hicks unclasped his armbands and shoulder pads before following the woman in front of him inside the mouth of the mine.

Inside, the mine was a literal labyrinth of interconnecting caves, several big enough to host a cathedral but all of them filled to the brim by people watching him with apprehension in his red and black armor. Coming before a smaller entrance barred by a curtain and two guards, they stopped and she spoke to one of them. Finally being granted entry into the cave, he was able to meet face to face with the leader of the Virgon refugees. He was a tall black man, standing at approximately 2 meters of height and appeared very thin, too thin for his tall frame. His eyes were a little sunken in his face and his black eyes showed how exhausted he really was.

As they entered the room, he came to attention, saluting the man as if he was a foreign dignitary, which, in a sense, he was.

"Sergeant Major Hermann Hicks, sir, Terran Federation Special Forces attached to the _Star Base_ _Sea of Tranquility_ in the Cyrannus Sector."

Lifting an eyebrow in question in the direction of Carmel Vanens, before carefully studying the deceptively young soldier still saluting in front of him.

"At ease soldier, my name is Marcus Cornell, the selected leader of this group. Now what can I help you with, you don't seem to come from around here?"

"No sir. I am a member of the Terran Federation Space Troopers in a mission of reconnaissance and rescue in response to the request for help from the Colonial refugee ships who left 4 years ago."

Giving his full attention to the man in front of him and inviting him to sit down in front of him, Marcus asked him to tell him everything.

"Approximately 4 years ago, the day the Cylons attacked your forces in surprise, several civilian ships protected by the Battlestar _Galactica_ were able to escape un harmed. Aboard one of these ships was the last remaining member alive from the cabinet of President Adar, Laura Roslin the then Secretary of Education. She assumed command of the situation and seeing no hope for their ships to face the Cylon armada she ordered the remnant fleet to jump beyond the Red Line in the hope to rejoin the fabled 13th colony. At the time, this reason was only an excuse used by the remnant leadership to conserve a modicum of hope in the minds of the survivors. But in their travel they discovered that the myth was indeed true and found marks indicating the road to follow. 4 years later, they found us. Earth is in fact the founder world of the Terran Federation in the Milky Way galaxy. As of a week ago, the 12 colonies of Kobol are members of the Terran Federation and a plan was devised to save as much as possible from your civilization. Our principal mission is to find survivors of the holocaust to bring them to the new Colonial home world in the Milky Way galaxy."

Both of the Virgon natives were staring open mouthed at him trying to warp their mind around the information delivered to them. Staring at each other, they finally turned to him considering him more in detail.

"And how do you expect to save us? The Cylons guard the system with their _Basestars_! Any ship that would take off from Virgon would be shot down. Moreover we have 120 000 people in here, where are you going to find a ship big enough to take everyone because we would only have one shot at pulling this."

Smiling a little the Sergeant Major responded to the inquiry with a calm voice. "Contrary to what you might believe, the Terran Federation is a lot more advanced in technology compared to the Cylons. Our ships are able to go twenty against one in capital ship to capital ship engagements. In our situation, twelve _Grand Fisher_ ships would suffice to take all of your people in one go and bring them to New Kobol in 5 days. The Terran Space Navy is ready to deploy 200 of those ships with 30 _Cruisers _as escorts."

Looking astonished at the news that a civilization they were not even aware of was ready to mobilize a veritable fleet to their help. Nodding to Carmel, she left to execute the silent order he gave her. She returned 5 minutes later followed by a young man in colonial uniform displaying the grade of Major. Carmel turned to him and presented the man.

"Sergeant Major Hermann Hicks this is Major Valo Talinia of the Colonial Fleet. He will be our decision maker on this issue since he has more experience in this matter. More importantly for us he can tell us if this plan of yours has any shred of possibility."

Saluting the Colonial Officer in front of him, the Special Forces member explained the plan. Closing his eyes in concentration the middle aged Major asked some more detailed questions.

"All your plans revolve around the use of the ships you call _Grand_ _Fisher_, can you describe them to me since even in the colonial fleet we do not have ships that are big enough to transport our current population in only 12 ships."

"The _Grand Fisher_s are ships created specially to deploy a large number of troops in any given situation in any terrain. Their capacity is 10 000 people at maximum without overtaxing the life support systems. The ships are very lightly armed, favoring speed and maneuvering to brute force leaving that aspect to escorts in the form of Cruisers if need be. The boarding of the ship is done via the use of a giant transporter ring by the thousand. Is that enough details for you?"

Eyes wide the Major had only one question" What I am more concerned about is the light weaponry. If any Cylon _Basesta_r detect us and move to intercept, a swarm of missiles could easily cripple us or worse destroy us completely. We need more escorts than what you suggest, at least a capital ship if you have any in your fleet!"

Smiling in reassurances the Sergeant Major responded "Do not worry. What you do not know is that the Terran Federation is far more advanced than the Colonials or Cylons ever were. Our ships are all protected from attack by the use of shielding technology forming a perfect bubble around each ship. Furthermore our ships use a different kind of FTL drive and can jump directly after clearing the atmosphere. Finally the light weaponry for the Terran Federation is not really considered in the same light as in the colonies. The _Grand_ _Fisher_ ships are equipped with drones capable to track the enemy at the speed of light to strike directly in its most vulnerable place. Basically with one shot it is capable to destroy a Capital ship like a _Basestar_. Size or numbers are not everything if you have a large enough superiority in technology. For example, our small 4 man team as enough firepower to level this entire mine and kill everyone in it."

Narrowing their eyes at this revelation they asked him to live them to discuss their options alone. An hour later they exited the makeshift office to give him their decision. The choice between a life in isolation in an old mine hiding from genocide by killer robots and salvation to a planet far away from danger might seem simple to most rational people but after 4 years of living there the fear of the unknown was almost overpowering but finally a consensus was reached and the decision was made: they would accept the proposition from the Terran Federation and start to make preparations to leave for their new home. The estimated time of arrival for the _Grand_ _Fisher_s was 3 days.

They would be ready.

* * *

This situation occurred in several colonies. Unfortunately several colonies had been completely wiped out like Picon and Scorpia where respectively the Fleet Headquarters and shipyards were based.

On Libra 35 000 colonials were found hiding in a large forest under algae covered cabins to escape any life detectors.

On Canceron, Leonis and Tauron several bunkers were found with a total of 15 000 people. In Caprica and Gemenon several concentration camps had been liberated from the Cylons with only 760 people in each camp well enough to be saved, the Cylons experiments on pregnant women made more casualties than the Federation anticipated from the reports made by the Colonials Remnants.

The colony of Aquaria, reputed for its infamous gangs and mafias, was more subtle to handle: the Cylons were actively researching for their hideouts in the system with a strong presence of 25 Basestars making the search more delicate for the Special Forces teams assigned to Aquaria. A contact was finally made but while the different factions were interested, they finally declined one after another the offer of help from the Terran Federation figuring that if the Federation won the system was theirs to take and if they did not they would weaken the Cylons enough for them to expand their territory. After all who wanted to be a servant in another country while they already were kings in their own?

Sagitarron was another surprise as the former resistance against the government of President Adar changed its focus from the colonial government to the Cylon presence and was able to bunker up and strike at the Cylons successfully; from there came the more survivors with a count of 300 000 people dispatched on several hideouts on the planet.

The Aerelon Colony, having been destroyed years before the attack on the colonies in a cataclysmic explosion was still searched for ships hiding there but nothing was found.

At final count, 473 000 survivors were found and accepted to being evacuated to New Kobol. The plan was to simultaneously evacuate every world to profit from the element of surprise.

In 3 days, the Cyrannus Sector would be almost emptied of its remaining colonial population.

* * *

**Unknown Sector of the Cyrannus System, Deep in Cylon territory.**

The _Hub_ was the central nexus of the Cylon Cloning technology. While the Resurrection Ships were necessary to prolong the range of the downloading and uploading process, the _Hub_ was irreplaceable for the Cylons and was heavily protected against any attack form enemies.

Unfortunately for them, they never encountered before the kind of technology available to the Terran Federation which made them susceptible to covert operations using cloaking and phasing technologies.

While the principal target of the Terran Federation was the search and rescue for survivors in the System, the disabling and study of any Cylon technology regarding cloning was the next priority in the agenda.

This is why every _Marauder_ deployed by the _Star Base_ _Sea of Tranquility_ was ordered to be on the lookout for Cylon technology and to study the transmissions coming and going from them. Rapidly, patterns emerged for the Asgard avatar Officer onboard the _Star Base_ and with this pattern a position. To confirm his calculations, the avatar moved on the priority list for the General to assign a mission of reconnaissance in the sector.

As it emerged from hyperspace phased, the _Marauder_ ship with the assigned mission was astonished to discover almost 50 Basestars protecting the _Hub_, a massive space station almost as big as the Star base he just left. After marking every ship and effecting deep scans on the _Hub_, the _Marauder_ left, its mission accomplished.

* * *

After reviewing every aspect of the data gathered by the _Marauder_, General Mathews and his staff prepared the plans to attack the small fleet protecting the _Hub_ and capturing it. A problem presented itself: first the _hub_ was not a spaceship equipped with engines to make it move but a space station which meant that until several ships where available to tow it in Federation space then the station would have to be taken by force and occupied. The Basestars presented also a problem since the next contingent of Capital ships from the Federation in the form of the 12th and 34th fleets were only en route from their mission of exploration of the uncharted sectors and needed at least a week to be there.

The problem was that the General wanted to profit from the surprises from the rescue missions occurring in 3 days .If the Cylons were busy while the _Hub_ was attacked, no reinforcements could be sent to their aid and the _Hub_ secured without interference from the main Cylon Fleet.

It meant that for a successful attack the _Star Base_ would have to send his entire contingent of _Arrows _and could not wait for either of the Fleets to arrive. Thankfully the _Star Base_ was well protected by its shield so the _Arrows_ were not immediately necessary and could be recalled once the Fleets were present in system. But the _Arrows_ needed to be deployed and without the presence of a _Heavy Carrier_, the _Star Base_ would have to set up its contingent of deployment rings. Deployment rings were a variation of the standard Stargate System placed on a hyperspace engine, protected by a shield and remote controlled by the _Star Base_. Each _Star Base_ was assigned 12 of them to help for the installation of permanent space Stargates in orbit of planets considered for colonization or for a strategic importance. They were not part of the Stargate Network and their positions were only known to The Terran Federation Army.

With a thousand _Arrows_ for 50 Basestars the fight would be a little longer than the Terran Space Navy was accustomed to in comparison to the earlier engagements against the Cylons but at least their pilots would be able to stretch their symbolical legs. They were starting to get restless from the lack of action since entering the system and a restless pilot was unbearable!

* * *

**3 Days Later, Cyrannus System.**

The _Grand_ _Fisher_ was a class of ship made to transport people for approximately a week in comfortable conditions. 10 000 people to be exact. And to accomplish that objective the ship had to have the size required to contain that population in its belly. And what a belly it was, could appreciate the survivors, as the _Grand_ _Fisher_ appeared in orbit of the Colonial world of Virgon. With a length of 2 037 meters by 500 meters with a height of 200 meters the ship was so big that its shadow covered the entirety of the mine and bloated out the sun for leagues around it. Protected by the best shield of the Terran Federation, equal in strength to a City shield, the _Grand_ _Fisher_ possessed only a limited weaponry platform directed from the bridge by a chair platform kept separated from the other vital systems. The Ship was crewed by 50 technicians in the control center of the bridge analyzing every particle around the ship, 200 crewmen responsible for the day to day operations and a contingent of security personnel numbering 500 to keep the ship as secure as possible for any would be infiltrators. Furthermore the ship had a group of 50 Puddle Jumpers stored in various hangar bays all around the ship. But what really separated this ship from the others in the Terran Space Navy except for its size was in fact the mass transportation system used by its class, the Great Ring.

The Stargate technology developed and used by the Alterans was a very versatile product able to be adapted to many situations from ring platforms for small transport between two locations, to a Galactic Stargate capable to help ships travel the void between the Stars.

The Terran Federation had adapted it to transport a large group of more than a thousand by combining the advantages of beaming technology to the stability of Ring platforms. The Great Ring responded to the same principles used in the ring platforms used commonly by the Alterans and later the Goa'ould but took it further by increasing its size to two hundred meter of diameter. However unlike the ring platforms, several rings were not needed as the first ring only represented an anchor to delimit the zone where a powerful teleportation beam would strike and teleport everything in it exactly as it was into a specially designed zone inside the Ship.

As the first thousand people were evacuated from Virgon, the same scene was witnessed on several other colonial worlds. The _Basestars_, after the surprise from the emergence of these ships started to fade, attacked directly without any response to the Terran Federation's message of warning. Directly trying to strike the biggest vessels, thinking wrongly that they were the biggest threat, the escort _Cruisers_ responded by unleashing on them their swarms of Drones disabling them rapidly. And as more _Basestars _were dispatched to attack the rescue ships, the cry for help from the _Hub_ was left unanswered.

* * *

**Unknown Sector of the Cyrannus System, Deep in Cylon territory.**

Unknown to the Cylons several Stargates had been deployed all around them cloaked and shielded waiting for the battle to start.

As the _Grand_ _Fisher_ ships were leaving for their mission, 4 _Fisher_ ships were being prepared with each 700 Terran Space Troopers ready to be deployed to control and occupy the _Hub_. Every soldier was well rested and ready to show the Cylons that while the Terran Federation had good ships, they had even better Troopers!

10 minutes after the start of the rescue mission, 1 000 _Arrows_ started to emerge from the 12 Stargates disseminated around the _Hub_ and the _Basestars, _automatically regrouping in formations to start a massive bombardment against the Cylon protection force.

Taken by surprise, the _Basestars_ did not have enough time to position their _raiders_ before the first _Basestar_ was destroyed by a formation of 50 _Arrows_. At the same time 4 _Fisher_ ships exited hyperspace near the _Hub_ and started to beam their Troopers in Teams of 20, flying all around the _Hub_ to target the beaming locations more precisely and disseminating the troops in key positions to create a swarm effect inside the _Hub_ and opening multiple fronts of assault.

Finished with their tasks they out phased themselves, waiting for the situation to be resolved and dock peacefully inside the giant station having no weapon to fight against the Cylon ships.

Sending distress signals, ignored by their forces engaged in other battles, the _Basestars_ started exploding one by one, destroyed by the _Arrows_ leaving no quarters while their _Raiders_ were being hunted down in dogfights, outmaneuvered and outgunned by the Smaller but more powerful _Arrows_.

The fight in the _Hub_ against the Cylons was progressing slowly as the robots were constructing barricades at every corner. In the first engagement between the 2 parties the Cylons Centurions, for the first time in decades, retreated in one on one fights against humans. Contrarily to the basic Colonial Soldier, the Terran Space Trooper had the advantage of benefiting of decades of genetic ameliorations setting their strength at the level of a Jaffa. More, the Terran Space Trooper was equipped with an arsenal attached to his armor. As he fought the soldier was monitored by his armor which dispensed nanites to augment his strength, boost his system and repair minute injuries. Its armor was also shielded against both energy and projectile weaponry which gave the Cylons no option but mass effect weapons hard to setup and slow to recharge.

As the last _Basestar_ was destroyed by the _Arrows_ and the last _Raiders_ decided to cut their losses by jumping out, the fight inside the _hub_ was coming to an end and the _Fisher_ ships proceeded toward the hangar bays. The newly awakened Humanoid Cylons were shocked to discover at their wake up not the familiar face of one of their brethren but the plasma canon of a Terran Space Trooper corralling them toward the sealed quarters transformed in cells.

The Cylons in one big operation had lost not only their most important asset but also the last bargaining ship they kept in reserve by keeping some humans alive.

* * *

**Cyrannus System, Kobol, Temple of the Gods.**

Team Delta Omicron Kappa stepped in the chamber revealed in front of them, still protected by a shield 4 000 years after the fall of Kobol.

The chamber was large, with a standard Alteran geometric design illuminated by stained windows with artificial lights behind them as they were deep beneath the Temple. In front of them resided several pedestals with behind them the representations of the Kobolian Gods.

As the Leader of Team Delta Omicron Kappa advanced in the chamber, each of his men started to run scans and examine every corner. Examining each statue, the Leader could see that they depicted know figures by the signs they displayed, a lightning bolt for Zeus, an Owl for Athena, an Archer for Apollo.

In the middle of the room, circled by the pedestals was a circle which started to glow at his approach.

Nodding to his men, the Leader, Sergeant Major Leona Travis stepped into the circle activating the systems hidden there millennia's ago displaying the hologram of an old man on the center pedestal, Zeus.

"Welcome, child of Kobol, to the Temple of the Gods. State your questions and you will be answered!"


	11. Chapter 10

* * *

Hello everyone,

I hope you will like this chapter, personnally i still think it misses something but after so much time without an update i felt it was time to move forward.

As always your reviews are greatly appreciated.

good reading!

Chapter 10

The _Heraklios _was a ship of the _Grand Fisher_ Class of the 13th generation. Each generation of ship of the Terran Space Navy was upgraded from the previous generation with new and improved technologies. While the technologies recovered from the Alteran and Asgard bases of knowledge were for the most part understood, the mastery of their technology was still an ongoing process that occupied the major part of the scientific minds of the Terran Federation. As more technologies were mastered, they were automatically incorporated into every ship of the Terran Space Navy directly in the form of components to update existing ships or by modifying the existing blueprints so that the next generation could profit in standard of the advancements. In that way, the Terran Federation was able to constantly phase out and test the new technologies, keeping the Terran Fleet as the more powerful one in the Milky Way galaxy.

The 13th on the 14 existing generations of _Grand Fisher_ class of ships was still a significant step up compared to the 12th generation in both subluminal and superluminal speed. In less than a week the _Heraklios_ was able to cross the void between the Galaxies and bring the first contingent of rescued Colonials from their home system to the new Colonial home world, New Kobol.

Contrary to what the colonial survivors expected when they embarked onboard the _Heraklios_, their accommodations for the journey were comfortable. They expected to find cargo holds or hangars with minimal room but where certainly not expecting familial quarters for families and comfortable general quarters for the single people fully equipped in hygienic facilities. More, a complete hospital was setup for the treatment of the survivors to address both vaccine injections for the common diseases found in the Terran Federation and for the treatment of injuries generally occurring in everyday life of the 10 000 population. Disseminated aboard the ship were several mess halls ready to deliver at anytime of the day the meals required to sustain such a population. Several cinemas had been built to inform the colonial survivors about the Terran Federation and New Kobol.

As the survivors arrived on New Kobol they had been fully briefed on the history behind the Colonial Remnant's Journey toward their new found brethren and were ready to settle on the Hovering city.

**

* * *

New Kobol, Milky way Galaxy.**

The _Heraklios_ aligned itself in orbit over the landing pad present in each city. Usually used as a plaza in the center of the city, it also had a giant ring platform build around it for the rapid displacement of personnel and material. The plaza was evacuated and colonial officials were waiting to welcome the newcomers and assist them in the new settlements. Suddenly to the astonishment of the people watching, 2 metal rings each with a 200 meters diameter and large by 2 meters exited the floor. A bright flash of light came from the sky and suddenly where before there was nobody stood the first survivors of the colonies rescued by the Terran Federation. As the Rings retreated in the ground, the colonial representatives approached, welcoming everyone and guiding them out of the plaza to make way for the next contingent to come through.

Wide eyed, the new arrivals watched in awe their surroundings, the gleaming buildings of steel and glass surrounded by gardens.

This scene was repeated many times during the following days as the _Grand Fisher_ ships came from the Cyrannus System bringing with them the last remaining colonials to their new world.

* * *

A Hovering City, while a fantastic piece of technology, was limited in its capacity of support. After receiving the final numbers of survivors rescued from the colonies and careful considerations, the Colonial government decided, in consultation with the Terran Engineers to land the City in one of the oceans on the planet. A site was chosen and the construction of a small outpost on dry land was started with a bridge connecting the city to the mainland. As the survivors started to arrive in system, the outpost was well on his way and the bridge almost connected to the City.

The small town growing on the beach near New Colonia was starting to take shape, and using the same construction materials as the Terran Federation used, the style of the houses constructed was the only difference separating the 2 places.

Several of the new arrivals had decided to forgo completely living in the foreign environment of the Hovering City and instead chose to have a house constructed for them. Fortunately the materials bought in the Terran federation were very cheap compared to the materials in the colonies and the loans accorded to them by the Colonial Government allowed them to start the construction immediately instead of waiting forever. No longer would the people of the colonies be obligated to live in shacks like in New Caprica.

Economically the situation was in constant development. The materials for the rebuilding of their civilization were not free but thankfully, the patents supplied to the Terran Federation space Navy and several private constructors were proving very fruitful. The technologies of the colonies while very out of date compared to the technological level of the Terran Army was still very sought after in over members industries in particular their FTl technology and the space suits used by their pilots whose plans had been licensed at a very high price and only for a period of 10 years. After those 10 years the Colonial government was planning to have accumulated enough credit to start their own manufactories and produce themselves their technologies, which were more utilitarian than the ones found in the Terran Federation but cheaper and swifter to produce for the small world members.

They were almost self sufficient in food requirements as several herds of wild animals had been identified in the Terran Federation Encyclopedia and were providing a good addition of meat to the growing population as well as numerous farms that were almost ready to produce their first harvests.

All in all the future was so bright for the Colonial people that nobody felt the storm brewing so far away.

**

* * *

New Colonia, New Kobol, Milky way Galaxy.**

In every civilization, the need for official communications between two governments is essential to maintain good relations. In the case of a government hoping to become a part of a union like the Terran Federation the most important link is a permanent connection between the 2: an Embassy.

The Embassy of the Terran Federation for the Colonial Government was situated near the seat of the Colonial Government and in a twelve story tower of the city, housing not only the offices of the ambassador and his staff but also their individual apartments. The embassy was the point of origin for all colonial people wishing to travel by Stargate to other worlds within the Terran Federation. Anyone wishing to travel by Stargate needed to obtain a Terran Passport. The procedure was simple, after obtaining an authorization from the colonial government the prospecting traveler had to present his colonial papers to the Stargate office in the embassy, state his reasons and destination for travel and submit to a biometric scan. An hour later at maximum any colonial could exit the embassy with a brand new Red Terran Federation passport reserved for the Provisional members of the Federation, the standard color of passport for a full member being Royal Blue.

William Hivers was a 45 years old colonial citizen originally from Virgon. After their rescue by the Terran Federation and their settling in the city he opened a business with the knowledge he learned on Virgon before the holocaust as an electronic expert and software analyst. Of course, with the new technology provided by the Terran Federation his expertise gave him the opportunity to be one of the only people with the ability to understand the city's systems and thus was created Hivers Engineering. 2 month later, leaving the reins of his business to his son and associate, he decided to take a knowledge trip in the key systems of the Terran Federation starting by Earth, birthplace of humanity and capital of the Terran Federation and ending with Vis Uban, Technological Jewel of the Federation.

As he entered the embassy, he advised the signs warning that weapons were forbidden in the embassy and that the embassy's security sensors were fully active. He stepped in front of the welcoming desk and asked for directions for the passport assignation office.

5 minutes later he was waiting in line for his turn. After 15 minutes of waiting he was asked to enter the office.

Inside was a Terran Official wearing a blue suit without buttons and the symbol for the Terran federation on the breast pocket, a blue planet within a white background with the Stargate symbol for Earth in the middle of the Planet. The Official turned toward him and shook hands with him.

"Hello, I'm Jeffrey Caruters; I understand that you want to apply for a Terran Passport? Well let's get to it. First I will need to see your Colonial passport, verify that you have your government's authorization, reasons and destination for travel and finally a biometric scan."

"What exactly entails a biometric scan?" asked Hivers giving him his papers while Caruters verified them by scanning his passport's ship in the computer in front of him.

"You simply step on the platform in front of you; it will scan completely your body, taking exact measures and your unique bio characteristics. It is done to protect the member worlds by controlling the comings and goings by Stargate and since the universe is filled with technology intended to confuse the senses of humans for infiltration, we designed sensors that compare the biometrics of any traveler coming through the Stargate to our databases. If the scans and records differ even by 1 percent then the traveler is automatically beamed in a holding cell for questioning. Well, I see that everything is in order on the administrative side, now, what are your reasons for travel and the destination?"

"I plan to go to Earth, for an historical tour and to Vis Uban, to see for myself the most advanced city in this galaxy as the papers called it. Are there any fees for the travel documents?"

"None and the use of the Stargate network is free of charge. The Alterans, creators of almost the entire Stargate network in the galaxy, designed it to be self sufficient for thousands of years. They knew that the best way to insure the expansion of their race was to facilitate the means of travel. In maintaining the Stargate network we not only help ourselves but also the human race. It is a small price to pay for such an advantage. Now if you can step onto the platform we will start the biometric scan."

"Do I need to take off my clothes?"

"No don't worry, just step onto the platform I will activate the scan." Hivers climbed on the platform and the platform activated, shedding a green light on his body during a minute. Finally the light died out and Hivers was informed by a computer voice of the end of the scan.

Caruters nodded than taped some instructions on the screen than took out the passport from the box in front of him. The new passport was red with the symbol of the Colonies, the 12 colonial constellations of the zodiac in a circle. "Well Mister Hivers this is your new passport, with it you can travel to any Stargate registered within it. If you ever want to add Stargate destinations to travel, you only need to go to the nearest Terran Embassy and ask for it at the front desk. Have a good day and god speed in your travels."

Hivers exited the embassy after, all in all, only 30 minutes having passed since he entered and for him this was extraordinary, compared to the speed generally displayed by the colonial authorities.

2 days later, William Hivers stood in front of the Stargate, watching the inner ring spin while the gate technician composed the symbols for Earth waiting in anticipation for his first travel through this marvel of technology. The inner ring stopped and in an incredible display of energy, the vortex formed connecting 2 worlds distant thousand of light years in a second.

Nervously he advanced toward the shimmering portal of energy in front of him, standing in the line of people ready to embark. He approached his hand to touch the vortex but as he touched it, he was pushed a little by the person behind him, sending him further in the wormhole and completing the process. Suddenly all he could see were stars rushing past him at the speed of light until he came out of the wormhole, almost losing his footing, and watched wildly around him the new sights.

Contrary to the travel made by Laura Roslin and William Adama where the Stargate of Arrival on Earth was _Atlantis_, the capital of the Terran Government, regular Stargate travel was delegated to a central hub situated in Montreal, State of Canada. As the Capital Planet of the Terran federation, Earth's coordinates were constantly used and the use of only one Stargate posed a grave problem of logistics. To parry that problem 1OO Stargates were installed in the Montreal _Astro Porta_, the old Alteran name for the Stargate used to design a Stargate hub in the Federation. After each successful trip, the gate last used was buried artificially, leaving only one Stargate at a time active to receive any incoming wormhole. Furthermore, the different _Astro Porta_ in the Terran Federation were connected via subspace communications to a central coordinator, acting as a galactic control tower making the scheduling of a Stargate trip a precise event instead of a complete random act.

**

* * *

Kobol, Cyrannus System, Temple of the Gods**.

As Sergeant major Leona Travis stepped on the pedestal in front of the hologram that appeared in front of him, he detailed the old man represented. While old with a long and silver beard, the man did not appear frail. He was tall, at least by modern standards with his 2 meters of height and had a tick build. He was dressed in a long blue robe with a gold medallion in the form of a lightning bolt around his neck. As he stepped on the pedestal, the old man's focus seemed to center on him, seemingly waiting patiently for him to speak.

Speaking directly in Alteran instead of Kobolian (a melting pot of ancient Greek and Alteran language), to show the hologram in front of him a basis of communication the Sergeant Major started his questions. "Hello, I am a member of the Terran Federation a coalition of planets in the Milky Way galaxy. Our Founder member is Earth, or _Terra Atlantus_. We are the descendants of the population living on the planet after you chased off the Goa'ould. We have come to search for any knowledge about the past of Kobol and its people."

Still looking at him, studying him, the hologram nodded and waved his hand in the air, making a stellar map appear in hologram form over the room. The old man stepped to the side and started his tale.

"Once we were a great civilization, an empire of hundred of worlds we terra formed to inhabit, seeding it with life. But one day, from one of the worlds we seeded, came a predator, an unnatural mutation of an insect that evolved through the millennia into a humanoid form, living by feeding on the life substance of living beings. We studied them until they became aware of us and decided we represented a much better food than they had ever seen before. So they hunted us. We fought back, considering them only a nuisance at best since their technology was inferior to us. We made a grave mistake. In just a hundred years of war they became a threat and before we knew it, we were losing the war. Planets after planets were destroyed and our military was powerless to destroy them. Finally the Lantian High Council, our government, decided to cut our losses and immerse our last City Ship and flee to our birthplace, Terra. "

Showing him the actual council session in a hologram, Zeus restarted his story. "Some of us left by Stargate the others by ship but when we discovered the planet we were horrified. Our descendants, the new evolution of Alterans in the galaxy were enslaved to parasites using them as labor soldiers and hosts to their will. We were enraged; escaping a war that destroyed our home only to return to our birthplace to such a Barbary was unthinkable and for many of us such an insult that the usual method to pacifically resolve the situation were not even taken into consideration. Thankfully our members that came through the gate were able to integrate themselves in the indigenous life of our descendants and started a resistance movement. By the time our ships arrived in orbit around the planet to attack the Parasites forces we were ready to start simultaneously the revolt on the surface and a space assault. Taken by surprise the parasites were forced to flee and we made sure to have several of their ships followed to their distant bases to be destroyed as a precaution and a warning. We stayed a little longer, asking the local population if some wanted to follow us in our journey. Terra had been stripped bare by the parasites in minerals essentials to our way of life and technology so establishing a settlement was impossible but we maintained an outpost and decided to relocate in another galaxy where we had sent probes showing us promising results. 13 tribes of men decided to join us in our journey and we finally established ourselves on Kobol were we founded our new civilization."

Kobol appeared in hologram in all its glory with its great cities showing their Alteran heritage but with a small Greek influence in the columns displayed in parts of the buildings.

The Sergeant Major examined more precisely the hologram in front of him, noticing the differences between the Kobol from today and the Kobol from the time of the Alterans. He noted every building of importance and made sure to have the video sent in encrypted messages to the Special Forces Teams on Kobol.

"What are you really? You can't be a simple hologram. I saw your expression before you looked at me, you were making a decision. Now I may be wrong but I think you are an ascended, the real Zeus interfering in the only way you can and I understand your position. The Terran Federation as a history of attracting the attention of ascended beings and have learned to deal with them. But you must understand: your people were almost wiped out by an enemy they themselves created and we are now their protectors. They now have a real chance of surviving and prospering but we need to know what really happened to show them their real history and not words from the past shrouded in mystery and mysticism. On Earth we have a saying written by one of our authors, George Santayana, "**Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" **and we have learned those words well for we always try not to repeat the mistakes from our us give the same opportunity to your people.

And as the Great Zeus, Head of the first Council of Kobol, looked at him, Sergeant Major Leona Travis knew he was being tested, his actions weighted and finally a decision was made in the great being in front of him. Expanding his arms wide, he exploded in light showing his ascended appearance, electricity dancing on his finger tips.

And as the words left his mouth, he could only hope that history would not doom his people further than they had before. After all if his cherished daughter could sacrifice herself to give the Kobolians time, then he could sacrifice himself to give them a future!

**

* * *

Cyrannus Sector: uncharted sector, deep in Cylon space.**

One member of each line of Bio-Cylons except the Final Five stood in front of the throne, shrouded in shadows, and housing a strange man. He was tall, with long silver hair and beard and dressed in a golden robe covering him from head to toe, but with a surprisingly young face for someone having silver hair.

At first he was just a man, a farmer named Larikos just worrying about the weather for his next crop. Until one day, his god chose him. His god, Chronos, had chosen him to be his personal servant, privy to his secrets until the foreign gods came in their chariots and banished his god from the planet to the void of the galaxy beyond. Furious, desperate, he decided to do what his god would have wanted him to do. As the foreign gods asked for people willing to join them he stepped forward with the hope to learn everything he could on them, unravel their secrets and help his god crush them.

And he learned from them, becoming an assistant to one of the foreign gods, Apollo, he bided his time integrating himself in their society until he could strike.

But one day everything changed. After banishing his god they took all he had, his secrets, his technology, everything he left behind. And as the assistant of one of the gods he was a witness in their studies until they came to study the sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus, he knew, was the secret behind the immortality of his god and it was out of the question for these infidels to touch such a gift. After much consideration, a plan was devised. While pretending to be working on the sarcophagus, he faked his own death by mimicking the explosion of the sarcophagus and stole it in the same time in the confusion using the body of a Kobol citizen of the same build and age as him.

Thus he started his own path, working in secret to understand everything left to him, in his demented mind, by his god. But even a chosen of Chronos could not hope to understand such a technology in his lifetime but fortunately for him, the sarcophagus was able to sustain his life indefinitely granting him the gift of immortality. But this immortality came with a price, as the more he used it the more his mind changed, twisted, to the point that he thought himself as a god, a messenger for Chronos.

A hundred years after his disappearance from Kobol, the foreign gods ascended leaving this plane of existence after years of looking after the Kobolians and arriving at the end of their natural life. One after the other they ascended leaving everything in the hands of some of their descendants.

He watched as the Kobolian civilization grew, conserving the ideals of the foreign gods, worshipping them and expending their population. 3 000 years later they had colonized the entire planet, invented new ways to travel and explored their new galaxy. But after so long without any contact from their earthen brethren the council of Kobol gave the mission to one of their tribe to return to Earth, their birthplace and help their brethren. The 13th tribe was chosen for this mission and left with their fleet.

Unfortunately for them someone was watching. Seeing the Kobolians leaving in a sizeable force heading for the planet of their origin, Larikos saw an opportunity. He prepared a message which he encoded

The forces of the Goa'ould assembled, putting together a fleet from all the far corner of their domain. The 200 vessels composing the fleet of the 13th tribe encountered a force of 2 000 Ha'tak, Alkesh and Death Gliders.

Outnumbered but possessing a technological advantage they fought. But as everyone knows quantity in enough numbers was a quality on itself. The battle was gigantic, going on for hours until only a handful of ships remained on the two sides. Badly damaged and only capable of one last jump, the 13th tribe's Fleet chose to escape on a planet they encountered on their journey. They jumped away coming onto orbit of the planet only for their engines to blow out and for them to be forced to crash land on the planet. Trapped in a previously unknown system they could only hope that someday some of their brethren could find them.

2 000 years later, the council of Kobol was ready to send another tribe to find their missing one. But learning of this fact, Larikos chose a different plan. He sabotaged the facility providing most of the energy to Kobol by exploiting the natural magma chambers and rigged them to draw too much power at once, planning to destroy all life on Kobol at one time.

As the first tremors appeared on the surface of Kobol the people panicked and revolts appeared in the streets to escape. Only a couple of ships had been able to depart and the situation seemed dire for the survival of the people of Kobol.

For the Ascended the situation was nerve wracking, the civilization they had built and nurtured was falling apart. The geo thermal energies of the planet were ready to render it apart and not enough time remained to evacuate every one. But the ascended could not help their people as any interference in the affairs of the lower planes could completely throw away the balance of things and they were, with all their power, helpless. But one ascended could not let matters rest, she could not let her people die and damn the consequences. In a burst of light, she appeared in the sky of Kobol's capital amazing the onlookers assembled in the central plaza. She raised her arms in the air and spoke in a voice that reached every corner of the planet. "My People, I, Athena, sacrifice myself for you to give you time. Flee, and survive for us, for Kobol."

And as she finished her words, she burst in a brilliant light so bright nobody could look directly at her. As the light died, so did the tremors of the earth. Her sacrifice, the literal combustion of the energy of her soul to stabilize the core of the planet gave the opportunity for the fleet of the 12 remaining Tribes to gather their people and run away. As the last ship exited the planet's atmosphere, the volcanoes of Kobol erupted, sending a powerful wave of magma running down their flanks to the city below. As the magma started spewing from the mouth of the volcanoes so did ashes that entered the atmosphere, covering the whole planet in a shadow obscuring the sun.

For the Kobolians witnessing this event, only one thought ran in their heads. Kobol, the home of millions and cradle of the Kobolian civilization would be unlivable for at least the next millennia, ending an Era of Enlightenment.

The messenger god was satisfied. Even if at least half of the population of Kobol had survived the holocaust, and Kobol had not been destroyed as he had planned, the settling on the colonies did not go well. Dissensions began to appear between the Tribes over resources vital to their survival. After six millennia of peace and unity on Kobol, the 12 tribes renamed themselves as colonies and made war against each other as they forgot most of their legacies, inventing more and more ways to destroy each other until the creation of the Cylons to do war in their place.

And one day the Cylon rebelled against their human creators. Used for centuries in the inter-colonial wars as shock troops, the Cylons developed an artificial intelligence as the colonies in their thirst for power did not have the forethought to protect their creations against such an occurrence.

But in the final months of the first Cylon War, the Cylons were approached by a being more powerful and knowledgeable then they believed capable. Someone they took as their God.

They made peace with the Colonials, bidding their time and learning from their God, evolving thanks to his teachings. And finally they returned to finish his work, what he could not finish 2 000 years ago.

They were proud to serve him but today they were not coming as victors but as defeated children pleading for their God and father to save them from their enemies. And the Messenger God listened to their tales, watched their recordings and came to a revelation. The foreign god's Legacy still remained and these enemies were all the proof he needed. He rose from his throne and lightly touched a console on his right activating the ring platform transporting him and his children to a location far away, the bridge of his flagship.

As they appeared on the bridge, they witnessed the power of their god. In front of them stood an enormous fleet of at least a thousand ships in the general star pattern of the Basestars but with a major difference: these ships were in the form of a nine edge star.

While Larikos had given the Cylons a lot of technology, enough for them to be able to completely decimate the Colonial Fleet, the real technology, the one he had taken from the Kobolians and the Goa'ould was reserved for his personal army.

As the representatives of each loyal line of Cylon watched, their god stepped in front of a pedestal and activated a system. Suddenly a violent bright light shined in front of them, illuminating rows upon rows of unfamiliar looking droids. Resembling vaguely the new Cylon centurions used by the Cylons currently, the newly revealed army looked in a word terrifying. At 2 and a half meter tall, their dark gleaming armor covered every inch of their skeleton. Each of their arms sported some kind of weapon in the form of a small canon, while their claw like arms were ready to take one of the two melee weapons emerging from the side of their thigh. As they came online, they stood at attention and a green glowing light appeared in the eye emplacement of their helmet. Finally a glowing field appeared around them, bathing them in a silvery light.

And as he turned toward them again, their god spoke, something he had never done before for them. "Now my children, in your hour of need, I have come. Take my might and show these foreigners that only my word is true. You are my children and nothing can stand against you if you remain faithful."

And as they bowed to him, and drank his words the Messenger God of Chronos smiled as he saw the complete devotion and love they had for him. Once again, he would show these foreign gods that they were nothing against his might.


	12. Chapter 11

AN: I normally don't respond to reviews in my chapters but I felt that this one needed a public response. Everyone is entitled to his opinion and can share them, I will not begrudge that. But if you wish to criticize at least read the story first. This is the second time a reviewer calls the **Terran**, _Tauri _and comment on things not mentionned in the story. If you don't like my story don't read it, no one forces you to.

The reason I called the Federation the TERRAN federation was because the name Tauri was only used by the Goa'ould to name the people of Earth. If you wish to name your government you do not use the term your ENEMIES gave you.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Lame : First, the augmented droids are not strictly Cylons and are not destined to fight ship/robot against the TERRANS. They are only designed for infantry assaults and manning the ships.

Second, as you said an Asgard mother ship is more than enough against an UNSHIELDED Goa'ould ship unless you are talking about Anubis. But you forgot that Larikos has also studied parts of the Alteran technology, has lived with them and like Anubis is more advanced than the typical Goa'ould as such his technology is more powerful than the Goa'ould ever were with over 10 000 years of study. And I can assure you Larikos would have equipped his Fleet with shielding technology.

Third, the beginning of the story is a synopsis spanning a hundred and twenty years AFTER the Series Finale (S10E20) in which the Asgard gave the Odyssey ALL their knowledge in the form of Asgard computers, weapons, generators and databases.

Last, I used Kilometers as a reference but did not give the height of the ship so as not to get into too many details. I only give enough details to give my readers a clearer image of the Ships. I do not wish to drown everyone in technical facts.

**

* * *

Chapter 11**

**New Amsterdam, Terran Federation Colony.**

New Amsterdam was a special colony in the Terran Federation for it was there that the Terran Federation had centered their facilities for research in technologies. The planet itself was 3 times the size of Earth and composed of 15 Oceans and island type continents like Australia on Earth.

What made New Amsterdam the perfect place to shelter the research facilities of the Terran Federation were its location and its resources. New Amsterdam was located in an out of the way system never discovered by the Goa'ould and only accessible by ship after passing through a nebula unstable for Hyperspace travel. Fortunately the Terran Federation had discovered the 7 digits Alteran Address for the planet ( kept out of the general DHD update locating the Stargate Addresses in the galaxy making it invisible to anyone not privy to the Address first) as well as a hyperspace route unknown to anyone bypassing the Nebula. Secondly, the planet was rich in deposits of trinium, Naquadah and other minerals making her one of the richest planet in the galaxy in terms of natural deposits.

It was there that the Terran Federation Space Navy had its shipyards, able to produce an entire fleet worth of ships in under a year without any need for resources from out of the system making New Amsterdam independent and secure for the testing of new technologies.

But at the moment the major project ready to be tested was a ship. The new prototype ship, concentrating all the latest technologies and responding to a completely new strategy design for the Terran space Navy.

For a long time, the Terran Space Navy had dominated space with the combined power of its 134 fleets. But now rumors of unrest were making their way to the ears of the Joint Chiefs from the Ministry of Intelligence. The Free Jaffa Nation is starting to show an expansionist policy, ending its state of status Quo since their early years of existence after the liberation of their people from the Goa'ould, by annexing peaceful worlds near the fringe of their borders.

The Jaffa, whose entire society had been created by the Goa'ould, had never been able to escape their tradition and move to new levels. After a trial period where the council had been elected by the people directly, the state of affairs had rapidly deteriorated after the death of First Master Teal'c and his brother in arms, Councilor Master Bra'tac. After their deaths, the council had been disbanded in their democratic form to be recreated in a form more reminiscent of the Goa'ould System Lords than a democratic state with the various war lords of the Jaffa Nation, Teal'c's wishes for his brothers having been torn apart by his political opponents, warlords and criminal syndicates using the remains of the Goa'ould empire to fuel their ambitions. More, the populations under the Jaffa control had never seen the difference between the Jaffa and Goa'ould ways since the feudal system enjoyed by the Goa'ould had never been really disbanded despite Teal'c's efforts to accomplish it.

And now, after more than a hundred years of peace between the 2 giants, tensions were rising as the Terran Federation was defending several primitive planets barely out of the Renaissance whose population was entirely unaware of the interest they represented for the resource hungry Jaffa Nation whose goal was to expand its boarders at any cost. For the moment, no engagement had been opened but tempers were rising and the shadows of war were looming on the horizon, ready to spill at a moment's notice as each warlord was readying his troops.

Understandably the situation made the Joint Chiefs of Staff nervous as they knew the scales of balance between the 2 Nations were more even than they were comfortable with. While the Terran Federation was the more advanced nation in the Milky Way Galaxy thanks to the Asgard and Alteran Databases, the Jaffa Nation outnumbered their Ships 10 to one from the current estimations and 200 to one in infantry personnel. These kinds of numbers were too dangerous to ignore and the decision was made to start a new program of military developments based on a new philosophy. While before specialized ships were combined in a Fleet to cover all the needed military bases, with their more powerful ships made with a multi tasking viewpoint, Military, Scientific, Cultural and Economical to perfectly represent the interests of the Terran Federation. The existing ships were indeed very powerful but their specialization was a weakness in the Terran Navy since to be best utilized the entire fleet had to be deployed instead of specific ships.

Previously the military know how of ship building in the Terran Federation was inspired by the Asgard and Earth philosophies with ships light and small enough to be as mobile as possible on the battlefield as opposed to their old opponents who used ships very powerful but so big that maneuvering them was slow and made them vulnerable to smaller ships able to escape their massive batteries. The Terran Federation had always resisted previously any attempt by engineers and scientists to change that military philosophy as it was proved true by decades of battles against then superior opponents but the Terran Federation was at a turning point as their strategies had been studied in details by their, at the time, allies.

One of the things that had always made the Humans from earth one of the most feared strategists of the Milky Way galaxy was resumed in few concepts: creative thinking and unpredictability. Since the early years of their engagements in the galaxy, the then US Air Force was outgunned and out manned by the Goa'ould. However, thanks to the military strategies playing to their strength, they managed to hold off the Goa'ould until they gained the knowledge necessary to vanquish them.

The Terran Federation's strategies being known they lost their unpredictability, even if knew strategies were developed, the base capabilities of their ships were too well known and even with the superior technology they used the massive numbers against them almost nullified this advantage.

Thus the new prototype was created to resolve those problems as it focused entirely on the militaristic aspect of ship building and introduced a kind of firepower not seen previously in any other ship except the Alterans City Ships.

With a length of 8 point 8 Kilometers, large by 8 Kilometers and a height of 3 Kilometers at his highest point (1 Kilometer at his lowest point) this ship was the biggest ever constructed by the New Amsterdam Shipyards and used 25% of the available shipyard space. Its general form was a mix between a bird of prey and a trident with a tapered and wide base.

Its armament was composed of several specific systems for ship against multi ship warfare: 32 silos of Alteran Drones, 50 batteries of Plasma canons on each side and 3 Heavy Lasers placed at the head of each prong, and able to be combined when shot to form a Laser Beam designed for orbital bombardment of heavily shielded fortresses.

The prototype was also a heavy carrier in both Space Superiority Fighters and Infantry deployment ships: 2 bays 400 meters large each placed at the front between the prongs, able to deploy its 50 squadrons of 12 _Arrows_ rapidly as well as a Larger bay placed on the back to deploy the 200 _Puddle Jumpers_, 100 _Marauders_ and 5 _Fishers_ for the deployment of the 100 000 Space Troopers as well as the 1 000 troops of Special Forces garrisoned onboard.

Special importance had been allowed to the design and protection of its vital systems. Added to the Global Shield that protected the ship in its entirety, several secondary shields had been installed to protect the engineering, Command Center, and crew quarters.

But a ship that size required a massive power source to function properly. There too the Terran Engineers outdid themselves, as they not only installed a principal power generator but also auxiliaries made to circumvent any attempt to disable in one attack the ship. The primary generator was created specifically for the prototype: based on the Arcturus Project started by the Alterans in the Pegasus Galaxy but unsuccessful and dangerous as it destroyed an entire solar system when it failed. Unlike the Arcturus Project however the new generator named the McKay Generator, in honor of the Theoretical Physics scientist who worked on the Arcturus Project, drained its power neither from our dimension nor a micro universe like a ZPM but from an artificially created wormhole connected to a Black Hole. This allowed the generator to draw power from an unlimited source.

Furthermore several power generators were tied to the vital systems ready to be engaged in the case of a strike against the McKay generator.

This predator of the stars with a size, armament and shape inspired the development team to name the ship the _Vultur Gryphus, _scientific name of the largest bird of prey alive, the Andean Condor.

**

* * *

A week later, Unknown location, the Hub**

The Hub was a literal space cloning facility for both humanoid and raiders Cylons. Thousands of new bodies were ready to receive the consciousness of any fallen Cylon in its sphere of reception.

After the hijacking done by the Terran Space Troopers resulting in the total obliteration of centurions onboard the station and the death and revival of almost 300 humanoid Cylons, The survivors were confined to their quarters as a temporary solution before their interrogation by the agents from the ministry of intelligence. The humanoid Cylons at first resisted vigorously against the Terran Forces but even with their augmented force and speed due to the nanobots cursing through their veins they were no match against the Terran Infantry whose nanobots and Jaffa like augmented strength were 10 times superior to the Cylons and their weapons and armor impervious to the Cylon armament.

A leader for each line had been selected by the Cylons and they stated their demands, each of them being rejected except the ones concerning the basic necessities. The Cylons appeared to not realize the predicament they were in, still in shock in the face of the total defeat they suffered at the hands of the Terran space Troopers.

By the second day a team of Terran Corps of Engineers had been deployed from the Star base and started the installation of a hyperspace generator to transport the Hub in Terran Territories to be dissected. The Asgard council of Minds was very interested by the Cylon technology of mind downloading able to offer the Cylon virtual immortality if a resurrection ship was in range. The Asgard had searched for millennia the answer to the genetic defect they were subject to but in the end had to bow down to the inevitable. The key to their survival was not in the reverse engineering of their bodies like they believed but the need to find a suitable host for their enormously superior intellect. And this was not an exaggeration but a fact as an Asgard mind was not only knowledge but also memories, experiences, everything that made a being whole but accumulated during millennia of existence via thousands of cloned lives. The Council had hope that with the Cylon technology of mind transfer and the genetic knowledge they acquired studying the Human genome they would be able to leave their artificial realities and once again restart their own lives. What gave the Cylon Genome more importance than the Terran Genetic material found in the Terran Federation was their Alteran Ancestry.

While the Terrans were an evolution of the first form of Alterans, they lost in that evolution the developments the Alteran brain had acquired after millions of years. The differences were so vast between the Lanteans of 10 000 years ago and the Humans that each of them could be called a separate branch of the original Alteran Genome found at the Fall of Terra and the exodus to the Pegasus Galaxy.

The Cylons and the Colonies represented an almost untouched Genetic pool of Alteran based DNA, diluted by the inter mixed unions of the beginnings of Kobolian Society but still infinitely more representative of the Alteran Genome than the more advanced Terran Genome and that fact allowed the Asgard scientist the material to maybe create a viable host for an Asgard Consciousness. The experiment would be long to bear fruit but it was the best solution they had since the end of their Empire. The Asgard were a patient people, they had waited Millennia for a clue to their salvation, they could wait a few years more and maybe this time the mistakes of their past could be repaired.

However even if their salvation from virtual limbo was near, they had no expectation whatsoever of rebuilding their Empire. Their Empire stretched all over the Ida Galaxy at one time but after the Replicator war and the loss of population they endured, their dreams had to be downsized to a manageable level. This is why the Asgard Council of Minds had supported the creation of the Terran Federation, despite their initial uneasiness in supporting the humans at the time when the Asgard Databases were offered to them, that opinion slowly changed after careful observation of their actions after obtaining such an important legacy. If the Asgard race was able to achieve a physical representation of their minds then they had every intention of joining the Terran Federation as full members.

But as the Terran Engineers were interfacing their controls and equipment with the Hub's systems, they were unaware of the Fleet of enemy ships coming to the rescue of their brothers and sisters, armed to the teeth with their God's power.

**

* * *

Void between the Colonial and Milky Way Galaxy, 25****th**** fleet road of patrol.**

After finishing his escort duty of the Colonial Remnant fleet, the 25th fleet received its new orders: exploration of the planned road of the colonial remnant to Earth from Kobol. After the discovery of the colonial people on the fringe of another galaxy near the Milky Way, the Office of Exploration, in charge of the complete exploration of all new discovered space, asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to plan a mission of exploration following the original road to Earth as described in the Colonial Sacred Scrolls. The Office of Exploration wanted the road to be mapped completely and additionally make sure no isolated group of Colonials had followed the same road and gotten lost. The 25th fleet, being the most experienced with the zone of conflict was assigned the mission.

After hitting every road point the Colonials had mapped before stopping on the Ionian Nebula the 25th fleet had started to follow the next clue in the sacred scrolls. The 25th fleet was scanning space on several light years but so far no other colonial vessel or communications had been found even though more than 20 star systems had been mapped.

The 25th fleet jumped in hyper space traveling for a short jump to the nearest star system, sensors at full burst ready to detect the littlest object in space.

As the fleet exited hyper space, proximity alarms on each ship alerted the crew of a myriad of debris in space. The fleet immediately stopped all movement, sensors analyzing every cube meter of the system in front of them filled with metallic debris, clearly the results of a space battle.

The debris were carefully analyzed in their composition and general structures and already several shapes had been identified by the ships avatar. And the results were staggering.

Freya was still analyzing the field but was ready to do a preliminary report to Admiral Delterre, just entering the Bridge from his office after the proximity alarms had stopped. "Freya can you tell me anything about what happened here?"

"Admiral, the general composition of several of these debris reveal traces of Naquada and Carbon as well as gold. From the biggest piece of wreckage I can already identify some parts of the hulls of ships. I can spot parts of _Alkesh_, _Ha'tak_ and _Gliders_ but a very old design, not seen in Goa'ould fleets since several millennia. But I can't identify some of this wreckage, they appear to be fairly advanced, far more than the Goa'ould parts but still strange, like a cross between Lantean Technology but for example on this part of the hull you could clearly see an energy weapon emplacement but the position of it on the hull is not optimal as if the technology was added recently on a ship not designed for it. But here and here you can see on several fragments that the designs are a lot more ancient but more integrated, more evolved as if in time the civilization that created these ships had lost something important."

Looking at the pieces on display in the holographic tank the Admiral slowly reached to virtually manipulate them. He asked Freya while keeping his eyes on the holographic tank "Freya can you give me an approximate date of each piece of metal and of the latent energy emissions from the battle?"

"Yes Admiral from the data I collected, the oldest piece of hull is more than 10 000 years old and the youngest just over 4 000. But from the energy emissions the battle was approximately 4 000 years ago which brings us to 2 hypotheses, either there was multiple battles in this location or the fleets battling here were made of ships from different periods, old ships mingling with newer ships."

Nodding at the hypotheses the Admiral reached again to twist some more pieces before turning toward Freya "Freya can you reassemble those fragments to show the general shape of the ships and analyze them for general capabilities?"

Freya just mumbled something in Asgard before doing just that. Slowly in front of the Admiral the pieces arranged themselves displaying first a _Ha'tak_ and an _Alkesh_ from old Goa'ould designs then an _Aurora_ class Battleship and some unknown ship with the form reminiscent of an elongated alligator almost 2 kilometers long.

As he saw the shape of the last ship Delterre turned toward Freya and asked her to compare it to the scans they had on file of the ships in the Colonial fleet.

"Admiral, you were right the last ship has ties to Colonial Engineering. I estimate a 75% chance that the unknown ship is an ancestor of the Colonial Battlestar; however it is much more advanced than the Battlestar _Galactica,_ approximately at the level of technology Earth was when they launched the _Daedalus_ Line."

Incredulously turning toward the Asgard ship Avatar Admiral Delterre only watched Freya for a time "then this ship must have been produced before the colonies where formed at the fall of Kobol. But to see this ship mixed with _Auroras_…..Freya, are the _Auroras_ the ships older than 10 000 years old?"

"Yes sir, the others ships are all approximately 4 000 years old."

"I think I have a theory, can you calculate their approximate destination if you take Kobol as a starting point?"

"Calculating. From what I can calculate the fleet was headed to the Milky Way galaxy, on this heading."

"Is Earth on the vicinity of this heading?"

"Yes sir"

"This is my theory: 4 000 years ago the 13th tribe decides to travel to Earth for reasons unknown. To travel there they were escorted by an armed fleet which is made up of Kobolian engineered ships and Alterans Ships. On their trek they encounter a Goa'ould fleet, we know how they operate, always trying to take what they want by force. A battle ensues and we see the result of that battle in front of us. Can you extrapolate the results of the battle?"

"Extrapolating, from my analysis the Kobolians were victorious even outnumbered, however only a small number of ships survived and from the residual particles and dispersion of the debris I think they were heavily damaged. The trails left point to one of the planet on the system. I will launch a probe to the planet's orbit for a detailed scan. From your theory it might be possible that some survivors of the battle may have crashed on the planet."

"Very well keep me informed and prepare the fleet to orbit the planet if you find anything. I will be in my office."

* * *

2 hours later, the Admiral was asked by the PA system to report to the Bridge. The entire command staff was there from Commander Peng and his XO, Lieutenant Commander Jameson to the Rear Admirals commanding the 2 squadrons composing the fleet and Lieutenant Commander Mugabe, the Admiral's chief of staff.

As the Admiral entered the bridge followed by the XO, they proceeded to the Commander's ready room adjacent to the bridge.

Soon everyone was seated and Freya started her briefing "As the Admiral ordered I proceeded with a deep analysis of the system's 5th planet where the trails of the after battle led. The probe I sent settled into orbit to start the scans and immediately started reporting to me her results. From the analysis of the scans I detected 35 crash sites on the planet with a population of 29 million+. Several cities were found near the crash sites and from the examination, they are all Kobolians in design."

Frowning, commander Peng asked Freya "Are you sure they are from Kobol? They may only be Humans, maybe an isolated population stranded here?"

"My sensors detected in the genetic makeup of almost 70% of the population the presence of the Alteran Gene. The presence of the Alteran Gene in the majority of the population is consistent of the Colonial Genome. There is no error."

Stifling his laugh at the reaction from Freya admiral Delterre rapidly took control of the meeting before Freya started insulting everyone's intelligence in Asgard again "What can you tell us of their level of technology? The Colonials were advanced but certain aspects of technology like shields and energy weapons were far too advanced for them."

Freya indicated the holographic screen that appeared in front of them displaying several cities. "For the most part they appear to possess a technology base equal if a not a little superior to our own just after 2010. However, from the analysis of the planets resources I was able to deduce that they would never be able to leave this solar system without outside help. The probe's sensors detected no Naquadah, Trinium or radioactive materials powerful enough to create adequate energy sources. Even if they had the technological level to cruise the stars, they would be unable to do so for their lack of materials. They are technically stranded."

Rear Admiral Hitrakulos placed his shin in his hands before asking Freya "What can you tell us about their defenses?"

"They have several plasma based canons capable of defending their planet against an assault by ship, quite similar in fact to the Tollans Ion Cannons in reach but with a little more power. They would not, however, be able to bypass our shields."

Admiral Delterre read for a few seconds the reports, leaving his subordinates to discuss Freya's findings between themselves before addressing his staff. "Now gentlemen, what are our options? They clearly possess the technological level allowing us to contact them but should we?"

After carefully weighting all the options between them, the decision was made to de cloak the _General's Glory_ in orbit of the planet and open official contact with the Leaders. As the official representative of the Terran Federation for First contact situation, Director Henrik Pedersen would be briefed and asked to talk directly with the Planet's Leader. The rest of the Fleet would stay cloaked in case of trickery and remain on standby.

In Orbit of an unknown planet in an unknown system, a Super Dreadnought appeared suddenly, causing every surveillance system to go haywire. As soon as the ship appeared all selected officials of the 13th tribe assembled to attempt to communicate with the newcomers.

Haram was the First Sage of the council, elected by the tribe to represent them and lead them. He was an old man of 174 years and the happy grandfather and great grandfather of 27 children. When he was selected to become one of the Sage on the Council 20 years ago he never expected to one day be the one to represent his people. But it was his duty and he will do it with pride and honor like the Lords of Kobol taught them.

He asked the technician to activate the communicator and stepped on the pedestal. "I am Haram, First Sage of the Council of the 13th tribe of Kobol. Our world is not without defenses, if you come in peace, please be welcome however if you come in war be wary, we will bow to no one!"

Haram did not have long to wait before a response appeared in front of him in the form of a hologram of Director Peterson. "I am Henrik Pedersen, a representative of the Terran Federation. I assure you First Sage Haram that we come in peace and offer only our friendship."

Haram stepped in front of Director Pedersen passing through the guards that shielded him when the hologram appeared. "Then I welcome you in the name of the 13th tribe of Kobol. May we know who our new friends are?"

"First Sage we are a Federation of worlds in the Milky Way Galaxy whose founding member is Earth or Terra Atlantus as you may know it. We were exploring this sector when we detected the remains of a battle and by following its trace came upon your world."

Haram's eyes widened when he heard of the words Terra Atlantus, the object of their original crusade to the stars and mission ordered by the Council of Kobol.

He turned toward his advisors and told them to summon the council of Sages for the Tribe. Returning in front of the hologram he bowed his head in the formal salute of his people, showing his respect for this member of their long lost brethren. "I first welcomed you as a stranger but let me welcome you now as brethren of the people of Kobol. "

Director Pedersen copied the salute then rose up to deliver his final message. "And I bring to you the greetings from the 12 Colonies of Kobol, descendants of the 12 tribes of Kobol and members of the Terran Federation."

And with that first meeting, rang the bells of reunion for the 13 tribes of Kobol after a 4 000 years separation.

* * *

Project Arcturus:

The project Arcturus was an experiment made by the Alterans in the Pegasus Galaxy to harness an energy source 25 times more powerful than a ZPM by draining power from our universe instead of a Micro universe like a ZPM.

This experiment was unsuccessful when the safeguards failed to stop the drain in power and destroyed half of the System.

Millennia later the experiment was found by DR McKay who tried to complete it but ultimately also failed bringing with it the complete destruction of the system.

Years later using the same principals but with another source allowed Dr McKay to finally achieve the Alterans Project; however its practical used was only finalized by the development Team of the New Amsterdam shipyards on the New Terran Space Navy Ship _Vultur Gryphus._

The effects of the new generator still need to be tested as its effects as a ships energy source may vary.


	13. Chapter 12

I want to thank every one who has reviewed the story. I finally revised the beginning chapters from prologue to chapter 4 and each modified chapter as a V2 to indiquate the correct version on the side of the Chapter number in the story body.

**The Fifth Race: Chapter 12**

The 25th fleet had taken position around the planet, maintaining sensor surveillance in the system hoping to know in advance if any ship would jump in system while the fleet was orbiting the Planet.

Director Pedersen was currently meeting directly with the Council of Sage of the 13th Tribe and for the moment everything was going smoothly, however Admiral Delterre was nervous as for him the system was not secure enough and several echoes had appeared and suddenly disappeared on the sensors but never at the same time nor the same place. The specialists onboard the General's Glory had deduced by the sensors readings that the ships detected were sent as scouts to evaluate the field for a possible operation under cover of the large area filled with debris in the system where even the Terran sensors had problem getting a clear reading, the scouts probably thought that the fragments of ships would be able to screen them from the Terran sensors.

They were almost right as even Terran sensors were not powerful enough to detect a scout sized ship in the middle of a cemetery of ships with a definitive image. No, what had allowed the Terran Sensors to detect something were the very brief energy readings from the FTL jumps the scouts used and even these readings were barely registered by the sensors.

For precaution the Admiral had ordered the _Carter's Genius_ and _Autumn's Equinox_ to maintain a tight Combat Space Patrol around the Fleet and to keep the crew on duty around the clock in rotations while the negotiations began. He had a bad feeling about this debris field and knew that the Cylons were obsessed about finding Earth and the 13th Tribe.

******

In the unknown system sheltering the Hub, the Terran teams of Engineers were working around the clock to install a hyperspace generator but several complications had delayed the process. Due to its size, the Hub needed a Star base class hyper drive to move its bulk through the Hyperspace window without reaping the Hub apart.

Unfortunately the only hyper drive of that class available in the system was the spare situated in the Star Base _Sea of Tranquility_ needed if the primary hyper drive was disabled during an attack. The Star Base being located in a war zone was rationing every additional part they had in storage including the spare Hyper Drive and General Mathews, the General Commanding the Star Base, denied the team of engineers the use of the extra and a new one had to be shipped from Terran federation space. A week later, as the new hyper drive was installed for future testing a new problem arose. While the Hub was a veritable powerhouse compared to Colonial or other Cylon ships, it was still insufficient to power the hyper drive to open a hyper space window big enough to allow the hub to travel let alone provide the energy necessary to travel in hyperspace at more than a snail's pace. The engineers had to improve the power plant of the Hub before attempting a Hyper Jump by installing several advanced Naquadah reactors in the Hub at strategic emplacements to protect the power conduits not used to channel so much energy. From the simple Naquadah reactor built thanks to the Orbanians more than a hundred years ago the technology had improved to a point where a single portable Naquadah generator could power a city in itself and was used almost exclusively by the Terran Army to power forward outpost and bases. At the moment 3 were installed and tied directly to the hyper drive generator, supplying energy directly into the drive, while another was powering the navigational computers and the last one was tied directly to several shields protecting the essential systems of the Hub, like the life support systems, one of the principal targets of the Centurions during the first Cylon War and a tactic the Terran Army learned to protect itself against before starting the campaign.

The Terran engineers were ready to test the installation with the opening of an hyper space window but before they could do so a proximity alert sounded signaling the arrival of ships in system with no warning from the usual Terran Sensors. The ships had appeared instantly using the Cylon FTL drive without any warning.

Alerting every Arrow patrolling the system 11 ships appeared around the Hub opening fire on the Arrows and Fishers with a rain of plasma bolts not even asking for surrender or even opening with a threatening message.

To the surprise of the Terran Garrison onboard as well as the Arrows Pilots, the Cylon Basestars had taken a completely new appearance only basely reminiscent of their original form from the previous engagements. The new ships were in the shape of a nine edged star with a similar design to that of the six edged Base Star but black as night and literally brimming with weapons ports all over its surface. The squadrons of _Arrows_ sent a request for assistance to the Star Base _Sea of Tranquility_ and immediately charged the ships hoping to strike them as fast and as brutally as the attack they used on the Cylon ships to take the Hub.

But to their complete surprise, the lasers they were equipped with collided with a shield clear of the ship's hull and allowing the Cylon Neo Base Stars to replicate in kind destroying dozens of _Arrows_, barely allocating the time for the emergency life systems to evacuate the pilots before the Space Superiority Fighters were destroyed. As the first wave of _Arrows_ had been repelled by the Cylons, their hangar bays opened before hundreds of Fighters exited, their green eye gleaming in the shadows of the Capital Ships.

The new Raiders exited their mother ships, their hulls gleaming under the rays of the system's sun, made of a black material seemingly absorbing the rays of the sun. While before the Raiders where in the shape of a crescent with a central elongated helmet as the main body, the new Raiders had 2 crescents shaped wings on either side of the fighter facing away from it, tied to the main body of the fighter in the shape of a snarling serpent with green eyes.

As the serpentine Raiders started their attacks against the _Arrows_, they opened fire with their main armament, Plasma canons reminiscent of the primary weapon found on Death gliders but apparently more powerful as the impacts made against the hulls of the Arrows almost burned right through the tick Naquadah – Trinium alloy which typical Death Glider's Plasma Canons were barely able to scratch before. The serpentine raiders formed up into squadrons before attacking en masse the _Arrows_ and a dog fight erupted. While the _Arrows_ and _Fishers_ were occupied by the serpentine Raiders, the Neo Base Stars turned their attention toward the Hub, opening concealed openings all over their hulls. Suddenly hundreds of 20 meters long missiles erupted from the ports toward the space station and travelled the short distance before penetrating partly into the hull of the Hub, burning their way through metal before stopping when they reached open space.

The Terran soldiers all over the space station were startled to discover that the missile they were expecting to utterly destroy the Hub were in fact breaching pods, each one containing ten _Praetorians_, superior in every way to the centurions, equipped with shields and small plasma canons. Contrary to their Centurions subordinates, the _Praetorian_'s intelligence was not restricted and they were capable to think, strategize and make autonomous decisions. Coupled with their new weaponry and the very resistant alloy they were made from, the _Praetorians_ were the response from the Cylons to the Terran Space Troopers.

******

**The Hub, Garrison's headquarters.**

Colonel Gerard was the commanding officer of the 255th regiment of the Terran Space Troopers. When he first received the reports of the breaching pods he ordered his officers to prepare the key positions to receive heavy fire and bunker themselves as much as they could. The Engineers had reported that the Hyper Drive was almost ready and that they would attempt a jump in hyper space as soon as possible. If the Troopers were able to hold out enough for them to reach their destination they would be able to ask for reinforcements directly in Terran Federation space. The colonel knew that the Star Base _Sea of Tranquility _would not be able to send reinforcement in time as they had to bypass the 11 Neo Base Stars surrounding them. They barely had enough room as it was for the formation of a Hyper Space window without colliding with one of the enemy's ships.

Barricades had been formed in the corridors leading to the Engineering, life support systems, hangars and cells for the prisoners. Several teams had been dispatched to hunt down the _Praetorians_ trying to secure different parts of the Hub. The problem for the moment was fortifying their positions so that they could hold on for the week long journey till they reached the Star Base _Mediterranean_, the closest Star Base to the Cyrannus system with a permanent Fleet attached to it, without being overrun by the Cylons. It was true that the Terran space trooper was equipped with technologies that enabled him to almost have no counterpart in one on one fights. However the Cylons as robots did not tire nor need to sleep and from the first echoes of battle he received these new Cylons even on one on one fights could withstand, thanks to the shields they were fitted with, a great number of a Space Trooper's weapons.

Where the Cylons got that kind of technology he did not know. It was impossible that the Cylons were able to develop such a technology just by seeing it in action, as it would have required years for their scientist to just come up with theoretical concepts and no Terran ship had been captured so the only possibility remaining was that someone else was behind the Cylon leap of technology.

However that would be the problem of the Intelligence Office, one more mystery for them to unravel and not something a soldier needed to concern himself for the moment when he had breaching pods sending enemy troops breathing down his neck.

His fifteen hundred men were good, the cream of the garrison stationed on Star Base _Sea of Tranquility_ but even the best fighting force could hold out for so long and he really hoped the engineers would be able to set everything up rapidly. Several of his officers had questioned his decision to go to Terran Federation space and cross the void between the galaxy lengthening the time they had to hold out to a week and many of them wanted to directly go to the Star Base _Sea of Tranquility_, at barely 1 light hour. Each destination had its advantages but he had to think first of the mission and his mission was to capture and transport to Federation space the space station known as the "Hub". If they jumped to the Star Base, they would have immediate support in troops and firepower to take out the immediate threat. However the Hub was not equipped with shields and the hull while solid and armored against ballistic hits would not be resistant enough against energy weapons additionally to being collateral in the middle of a space battle as the 12th and 34th Fleets were still a week away, with their more powerful Base Stars the Cylons presented a danger for the Hub. If they jumped toward Terran Federation Space, they would have to hold their positions for at least a week while they would travel in hyperspace and against an enemy benefiting from superior numbers and almost equivalent technology but in Federation space they would be under the protection of Terran Fleets and out of range of the Cylon Neo Base ship and the Hub would be protected against destruction. He finally choose to travel to Federation space because he had faith in his men and their strategically placed barricades as even with brute force the Cylons would not be able to overrun them.

As the first Cylons approached his station he could finally take a good look at these updated Centurions. Standing at 2 and a half meter tall in lines of 4, their green eye standing still in the middle of their visors they slowly raised their arms and started firing on the Terran Troopers, their plasma weapons impacting the shield installed as a defense mechanism. In response the Terran Space Troopers targeted them with every weapon they had, from fixed Plasma Canons to Personal Energy Gauntlets. To the surprise of the defenders, the plasma shots were almost all stopped by a silver shield protecting them almost perfectly. Several of their numbers had been destroyed when their shield overloaded from the strain of containing the sheer fire power flung at them, while the Terran Shield was powerful enough to resist their Plasma weapons, the new Cylons were not similarly lucky and the sensors of their mobile base detected the drop in power of their shields.

Almost as if they could read the thoughts of the Terran soldiers, the Cylons started advancing toward the blockade, trying to overthrow them by sheer numbers. Immediately the Officers in charge ordered a barrage fire to mow down the approaching droids. More Cylon fell before finally withdrawing and taking defensive positions.

Colonel Gerard had just stopped firing when he received a message from the Engineers. As he received the message, the deck started vibrating under his feet as the Hub was lurched into the newly opened Hyper Space windows. The Battle for the Hub was just beginning.

******

_Unknown System on the rim of the Milky Way Galaxy, 13th Tribe Home System, Gaiatena._

The Council of Sages was the highest and oldest authority for the 13th Tribe government on the planet they named Gaiatena. The Council was not the most powerful institution on the planet for the everyday affairs for the last thousand years however it was still the Council of Sages that decided the future of the 13th Tribe and spoke for its people, keeping the traditions of Kobol alive even if the 13th Tribe evolved in a more democratic form.

The Council of Sages was in session, hosting the first face to face meeting with the Terran Federation representatives giving the opportunity for the 13th Tribe to have contact with the Galaxy at large and more importantly their Brethren. However not everyone was happy to hear from the outside as they were happy to be left alone, out of sight and danger the Galaxy was capable to unleash on them, in other words they feared what they did not know and they had their partisans in the Government and even in the Council of Sages.

As the Terran ship landed in the central plaza of the capital city, a honor guard stood at attention ready to welcome the Terrans and provide an escort to the Council Hall where waited for them the entire Council.

Director Pedersen exited the ship, escorted by a Special Forces Team in their day to day uniform and followed the Council's envoys. The Director admired the architecture of the 13th'Tribe's Capital City a mix of both Colonial and Alteran designs, an attempt to conserve their heritage from Kobol from where they left 4 000 years ago. They entered a gigantic ante chamber before coming in front of 10 foot tall doors made of stone. The escort ordered the doors opened before he entered ahead of the Terran party of five and announced them.

The Council chamber was separated in 2 tiers with a raised platform at the end of the hall where was situated the 14 Sages headed by Haram, First Sage of the 13th Tribe. On the lower tier was placed the tribunes welcoming the officials of the 13th Tribe, here to be witnesses of the historical event.

Director Pedersen stood before the Council and bowed before them with the traditional salute of the colonies. "Greetings, I am Henrik Pedersen, Director for the Terran Federation. We contact you in peace and in friendship in the hope of forging ties with your people. I also bring you words from your Brethren, the 12 Tribes of Kobol which are now provisional members of the Terran Federation."

As he presented himself and opened the floor for the first meeting between the 13th Tribe and the Terran Federation, the public in the hall erupted in murmurs and several Sages looked shocked.

Haram, the First Sage of the Council of Sages stood up and asked for the silence of the public comprised of the Tribe's more powerful people. "Let the Terran representative speak"

Thanking the Head Sage, Director Pedersen continued "Thank you First Sage Haram. The Terran Federation is a group of planets in the Milky Way galaxy that decided to unite in a common government whose capital is on Earth. As of now the Terran Federation represents more than 80 members on hundreds of worlds in 2 galaxies."

The hall again erupted in exclamations between the spectators and Pedersen could feel on his back the looks sent to him from several people in the audience, and not all of them were friendly.

A Sage stood up and addressed the Council "My Brothers, what assurance do we have that these people are not envoys from the False Gods that banished us to this planet. Director Pedersen wants us to believe that Earth, the cradle of our race, is the capital world of his Federation while the False Gods taunted us with its destruction during the battle our ancestors fought in Millennia ago. I say all he tell us is folly and that his lies must not weaken us. We stayed strong despite being stuck on this planet for Millennia; we adapted our technology so that we could survive. Do not cast aside our very way of life for some tale a stranger is trying to sell us!"

The Sage was at the end of his speech almost screaming at Director Pedersen clearly trying to harangue the public against the Terran Federation, while said Director remained calm, sitting calmly at the table provided for him. Clearly the isolationists had a firm hold of the political scene and were hell bent on maintaining their power and not allow outsiders to influence their people, even going as far as to try to discredit anyone who was a threat to their ideas.

Pedersen calmly stood up and stepped in front of the Council activating a Holographic generator he left on the table for his presentation. "If I may, can I respond to the councilor's accusation First Sage Haram?" Getting a nod as only response he started a more detailed explanation.

"I will now explain to this Council the road that took us to this world and will let this council judge for themselves if we are just deceiving you or if we tell the truth, If I may have the indulgence of this Council I will be as brief as possible and if at the end of this meeting the Council wishes us to leave then we will obey the Council's wishes. 4 000 years ago the 13th Tribe left Kobol for reasons unknown to us and disappeared for Earth, a thousand year later a catastrophic event destabilized Kobol's core. The planet became unable to sustain life and the 12 remaining Tribes fled Kobol and each of them established a colony on different planets in the nearby Cyrannus System. However discontent appeared between the Tribes over their planetary resources and the technology they horded from Kobol, each planet being vastly different from the other, providing clear advantages for each colony. They renamed themselves Colonies of Kobol and started wars against each other the unity they shared before destroyed, each war becoming more vicious years after years. After a while they became afraid of the life toll their wars claimed and created the Cylons, machines made to make war for them. Unfortunately they made a mistake, as they did not anticipate that their creations would develop their own consciousness. When they were made aware of that fact instead of embracing their children, they repressed them, forcing them to fight against each other until they had enough and revolted against their creators. As the machines revolted the Colonies presented for the first time in millennia a united front in the face of a common enemy. The war against the Cylon machines lasted 40 years before an amnesty was signed between the 2 forces and a demarcation line drawn in space as a frontier and marked by an armistice station. 40 years later, responding to an incursion in their borders, the Cylons attacked the Colonies and bombed them from orbit. 50 billion people died and the mere 45 000 survivors fled in search of an almost forgotten legend, their only hope, Earth and the remaining 13th Tribe but instead they found us, the Terran Federation and have been accepted as provisional members in the Terran Federation."

The assembly was silent for the first time since the start of the meeting and as the Director regained his place one of the Sage stood up and asked to be heard. "Director Petersen if what you say is true, how is it that your fleet found us because as we saw in the hologram you showed us of your battle against the Cylons, your trajectory would not lead you to us and the system where the battle took place is far from here, at least 300 light years."

Manipulating with a thought the hologram projector, he showed to the Council the slow road the mission of exploration accomplished by the 25th Fleet system by system until they reached the 13 Tribe "When it was determined that the 12 colonies of Kobol had contact with the Alterans, the Terran Federation decided to send teams to Kobol to study the remains of the Kobolian society and discover if any clue of their Alteran heritage remained. There, they discovered a hall of records that gave us the information we searched for. Armed with that knowledge and the confirmation that a 13 Tribe had existed on Kobol and was sent to Earth we decided to study the Scriptures from the Colonies and search the more logical route from the clues left taking Kobol as a point of origin and Earth as a destination. Our fleet was then dispatched and scanned system after system to finally stumble upon your people." The Director preferred to keep under silence the ascended Kobolian's assistance in filling the blanks absent from the official records in the hall of the gods as named by the Kobolians of that time. While the Terran Federation had more than a few encounters with ascended beings, as several of their people had achieved the required level of evolution and mental aptitude required to ascend, it was still a delicate subject as it touched on the domain of spiritual and could be interpreted by more primitive cultures as a sign of godhood.

One of the Sages snorted and stood up seemingly laughing from a dark thought only privy to him. The other Sage let him, watching him with attention, although the First sage, Haram, looked almost chagrined of the attitude of his fellow Sage but resigned to hear what he had to say with the little show he was putting in front of the court. The Sage finally reached the table with the Terran Official and started to speak, clearly talking not only to Director Pedersen but also to the audience attending the proceedings. "4 000 years ago during our ancestor's travel to Earth they encountered a powerful enemy, one of the False Gods, Cronus. The battle was fierce and lasted for hours until finally the False Gods fled the battle like the cowards they were, living our ancestor's ships crippled, unable to return to Kobol. But they survived! They lived and flourished on this planet, our planet, Gaiatena. But contrary to what you may believe Director Pedersen, our ancestors were not assigned a glorious task but banished from Kobol! And now 4 000 years later you dare come to us with the idea that the 13th Tribe would open its arms wide for the return of our "brethren" when they banished us in the first place!" The sage was almost red with rage, gesturing wildly and haranguing the listeners.

Director Pedersen simply listened politely not showing much on his face except a little curiosity at the way the Sage was behaving in front of him. While he gathered that the 13th tribe had a grudge against the 12 colonies of Kobol, however he did not expect to incite such a violent reaction in a political figure as important in the Tribe's food chain. Calmly, he stood up and not even responding to the Sage he stepped in front of the podium to talk directly with the First Sage, knowing that in doing so he slighted the virulent Sage's pride but also knowing that responding directly to the man would have made his words more important than they were. "First Sage Haram, we are not here to reunite you with the 12 Colonies. The reason they were looking for you more than anything was because they were desperate, they were not even sure you really existed. But faced with an holocaust and hunted to the far reaches of the universe by an implacable enemy they had no other recourse. My government discovered them when the breached our frontier pickets and contacted them. They themselves have very little remaining historical records concerning your tribe and did not know the reason why you left or as you say were banished. However the reason the Terran Federation gave safe heaven to the 12 Colonies was to help them as fellow humans. Now we have contacted you not because we wished to reunite you with the other Tribes but because you are fellow humans and it is a goal of the Terran Federation to unite humanity. If you wish us to leave you in peace we will do so however may I ask a question? Why did the other Tribes banish you for Kobol?"

Folding his hands beneath his chin First Sage Haram responded to Director Pedersen calmly contrary to Sage Galon who had regained his place on the Council and was silently steaming at being ignored. "Our historical records were kept intact by generations of historians so that our past may never be forgotten contrary to our technology. After the tribes left Earth with the Alterans Lords we established ourselves on Kobol. We lived in harmony, each tribe governing themselves separately under the enlightened direction of the Kobol Alteran Lords. They taught us, held us equal and everything was perfect and Kobol became our paradise for a while until the first Alteran Lords started to ascend leaving us for another plane of existence as beings of light. Many of the Tribes started to admire them even more until the last Alteran Lord ascended. We then elected a Council of Tribes were the First Sage of each tribe would siege to govern Kobol however the legends of ascension grew to a point that many of the Tribes started worshipping the Alteran Lords, particularly the members of the Alteran Council until every tribe but ours took them as gods. The 13th Tribe always believed that the Alteran Lords were powerful and wise leaders but still mortals and that very idea clashed against the other tribes until they decided to give us a mission, in reality a punition disguised as an honor to accommodate the "Gods". We were banished and almost annihilated because of that exile by our people. Now you can understand why we don't particularly welcome the news of contact with the 12 Tribes."

As he heard that little revelation, Director Pedersen could not help but let a groan echo in his head. From the peaceful contact he expected he now had to deal with hostile negotiations with a pissed of civilization. The worst was that while the Terran Federation was an entity completely different from the 12 Tribes of Kobol, their sheltering of the Remnant colonies bathed them in a bad light in the eyes of the 13 Tribe.

Straightening his shoulders he decided to alleviate the tension present in the room and show them that while they did shelter the Colonials, they did not share their beliefs. " First Sage, I understand the deep and terrible history that bond you with the 12 Colonies of Kobol, however the Terran Federation is not the government of the 12 Tribes that banished you. When we gave shelter to the 12 Colonies and later offered them membership into our federation, we did so to help our fellow humans fleeing a holocaust and the terrible enemy that caused it. While the 12 Colonies still worship the Lords of Kobol, the Terran Federation does not. Like your people, First Sage, we know of the deeds of the Alterans, of their technologies, of their powers and we have met some of them during our experience of the universe but we do not worship them. Respect them yes as the Alterans were the greatest race that ever existed in 4 galaxies and achieved wonders still out of reach for us. On the other hand we know of their faults, of their bad deeds and for all the powers they possessed, of their inherent humanity. Finally I will say this to you and the Council: The Terran Federation as contacted you in a spirit of friendship, to offer trade in culture and knowledge in good faith. The dramatic history you have with the other 12 Tribes are not an impossible obstacle to cross for continued relations between our people. As the Terran Federation's Contact Director I can only urge you to consider the benefits you can gain if you agree to develop a peaceful relationship with us."

The first Sage nodded to him, but the quick look he gave the rest of the council did not bode well for the Terran federation's cause. "The Council will make the decision that he deems best for the 13 Tribe as is his right and duty. You will have to wait for our decision in the ante chamber."

Director Pedersen after saluting the Council left the hall and waited for an hour during which he could hear the mutated voices of the council during its deliberation. He could not understand the word being spoken but the tone he heard progressively made his hope of a successful first contact plummet.

He was finally recalled in the hall to hear the Council's decision. Unfortunately the decision was the one he feared as First Sage Haram informed him that for the time being the 13 Tribe did not wish to have any associations with the Terran Federation while the 12 Tribes of Kobol are members of it.

The decision was final and acclaimed by the audience whose feelings were made clear. Director Pedersen said farewell to the Council, knowing that the membership of the 12 Colonies had only been an excuse and that the real reason the 13 Tribe refused to have any exchange with the Terran Federation was because of their fear of the unknown. The Director had no choice however as the first rule of contact drilled in the Terran federation policies left the decision solely in the hands of the rightful ruling body of the contacted world.

Escorted by the honor guard and his own squad of Terran Special forces he regained his ship and left the planet minutes later heading toward the _General's Glory_ to report to the Terran Foreign office.

To say the least, several people would be disappointed.

******

**Defense Star _Galactica_, in orbit of New Kobol, Same time.**

The Galactica was now, 4 months only after arriving on orbit of New Kobol, a dedicated defense space station in charge of all space in New Kobol's system. The port nacelles had been permanently extended and the ship completely reinforced and redesigned. Where before the engines, reactors and Tylium processing units stood now where the emplacement of a brand new Terran Neutrino Ion reactor and shield generator as well as new available space for the training ground of the New Kobol Defense Force which role was to protect the Colonials from threats from without and within.

Several _Viper_ exits had been remodeled to accept _Arrows_ and _Puddle Jumpers_ in their bays. While the Terran policy for the members worlds were very firm, the Terran Space Navy still decided to maintain a permanent force of _Arrows_ onboard the Galactica and 2 Squadrons had been assigned the task of maintaining a combat space patrol on the system as well as familiarize the Colonial Defense Force with the Terran Space Navy's operations.

However pilots would always be pilots from wherever they hailed from and it did not take long for the Terran and Colonial Space Pilots to try to first show off in front of each other before offering rides in each other's Space Superiority Fighters.

The colonial pilots were very impressed when they finally got a close sight of the _Arrows_ and were literally salivating at the thought of trying it. The _Arrows_ were developed as a Space Superiority Fighter able to function for years without the constant need of maintenance generally necessary for the usual fighter. The design was partially aerodynamic, even if such a thing was unnecessary in space, and small enough to fit through a Stargate for rapid deployment. At the head of the _Arrow_ was placed the generator of the fighter able to give power to its systems for at the least a dozen years, as well as a combined stealth and shielding system. This new hybrid was not a true shield but allowed the _Arrow_ to confuse the Enemy's targeting system and make the fighter near impossible to anchor by automated systems and reinforced the vital components of the ship with individual protection, not enough to protect it against a hit form a capital ship but at least strong enough that any hit meant to disable its system would be ineffective.

The pilot's cabin was placed in the body of the fighter in a completely covered cockpit where the canopy was in fact a virtual screen showing exactly the view outside as well as heads up displays and targeting systems and sensors, with all the systems activated via the use of the Alteran Gene. In case of an emergency the pilot was dematerialized by a transport beam and stored in a rescue pack which was then ejected from the ship activating a distress signal on all Terran frequencies to be retrieved, allowing the pilot to be placed in suspended animation for at least 200 years while waiting to be rescued.

Finally the tail of the ship was designed in the form of 4 small wings forming a cross where was mounted 4 lasers instead of plasma canons. While the plasma canons had more destructive power they lacked the precision necessary to target enemy fighters accurately enough to disable them instead of utterly destroying them. While the Arrow was a multitasking ship its primary goal was to confront enemy Space Superiority Fighters, not engage Capital Ships.

Thankfully for the Colonials pilots, they descended from the Alterans more closely than the Terrans and rarely needed the Alteran Gene Therapy, allowing them to fly the _Arrows_ immediately. And what an experience that was for the Colonial Pilots as they discovered a Fighter able to maneuver more fluidly than a _Viper_ or a _Raider_ with at least 20 times the speed without feeling any of the negative effects they were accustomed to in their Vipers. In the _Arrows_, the inertial dampeners prevented the pilot from feeling any G forces from the accelerations and speed the fighter was capable of with its gravimetric engines.

Most of the Pilots were however disappointed, for while they got a taste of the incredible Fighter machine that was the _Arrow_, they were not authorized to pilot it without the direct supervision of a Terran Officer and even then only for testing purposes and not in the pursuit of their duty. The provisional membership status placed the Colonials under the protection of the Terran Federation; however it did not incorporate their forces into the Terran Army and thus all military technology was off limits except for Terran military personnel and the occasional guest.

******

**New Kobol, New Colonia, President Adama's Office.**

It had been 3 months since their arrival in their new home and for the most part everything had gone smoothly. For a time a shortage of hands had been feared by the colonial government as they established the remains of their civilization on this world but with the rescue of the remaining survivors in the colonies their population had increased ten times and now on the contrary unemployment had been feared. However their fear was for nothing as the constructions financed by the Terran loans created many opportunities and allowed the Colonial government to employ as many as they needed and then more to reconstruct their way of life.

After the arrival of the survivors, many of their numbers petitioned for a new election for the leaders of the government, almost causing a riot but after an agreement was reached between the leaders of each faction it was decided that the current leadership would be expended to include them in the running of the government and to allow new elections in a year.

With a consensus reached and the political front resolved President Adama asked the Terran Ambassador to give him an update on the Cyrannus front. The Ambassador gave him the classified report of the Kobol exploration the Colonial Remnants never had time to conduct since they were on the run from the Cylons, and the results were staggering for the colonial people. The photos and holo videos of the Hall of the Gods as well as the conversation that occurred there changed completely the history of the colonies and while many people in the government would bury their heads in the sands and refute the findings from the expedition, he knew that the history books of the Colonies would have to be completely rewritten. They had effectively been reunited with their people like the Terrans said but not the 13th tribe as they expected but their brethren nonetheless. With the capture of the Cylon Hub by the Terran Army he knew that the answers they were looking for concerning the secrets the Cylons still kept, and with the discovery of these secrets a page of Colonial history would be turned and a new chapter could finally begin without the weight of their mistakes spoiling everything.

For the moment he was waiting for the regional manager of Interplanetary Vehicles a subsidiary in part of Tekcon and several other companies specialized in personal spaceships. The manager had requested a meeting to negotiate for a license to use the Colonial FTL drive.

His secretary knocked on the door and introduced him to the manager, a native from Langara originally, named Triv Naruk. The negotiations started and the manager put on the table the plans for the personal spaceship they wanted to build around the Colonial FTL drive: the Hyperspace drive used commonly in the Milky Way Galaxy was impossible to build small enough for a viable choice as a personal ship with a smaller size than a Goa'ould cargo ship or a _Marauder_ class ship. The Colonial Jump drive gave the ability for the engineers of Interplanetary Vehicles to build a two to four man ship capable of interstellar travel up to 30 light years which was a market left completely untouched in the Terran Federation.

The deal was hammered between the 2 parties until an agreement that satisfied the 2 was made: as a license fee, Interplanetary Vehicles would pay 200 million Terran credits a year plus a 5% commission on every ship sold. Furthermore, the President was able to obtain a concession as the first factory for those ships would be build on New Kobol, providing thousands of jobs for the Colonial population. Satisfied with the negotiation the manager left New Colonia for Hebridan where the company's offices were located.

As the manager left the meeting, President Adama prepared the press conference for the announcement of the new deal he bargained for his people and perspectives they offered. Good news was something always appreciated by the population and after 4 years of hell they needed all the good news they could get.

******

**Outer Rim of the Milky Way galaxy, Gaiatena, Home world of the 13 Tribe.**

The Super-Dreadnought _General's Glory_ was a ship of the line, as such its crew enjoyed a comfort not seen previously in War capable ships and thanks to its multipurpose mission the crew enjoyed the luxury of a life zone the size of a City. But today was special as the famous Loop of Kon Garat was broadcasted on the central holographic screen of the central plaza of the city and almost all of the off duty personnel of the ship was there to watch the famous race. The Loop of Kon Garat was one of the most dangerous and popular space race in the Terran Federation followed by billions of people in the galaxy and sponsored by Tekcon the galaxy wide corporation whose headquarters where on Hebridan. The race was in full swing and already 2 competitors had been eliminated by the obstacles inherent of the race, the crowd watching, rooting for their favorite pilot or moaning at the defeat of their choice of contestant.

The on duty crew cursed the fact they couldn't watch the race but duty aboard a starship was nonstop and the crew respected the typical shifts of 8 hours and remained faithfully at their post. However even the more focused crew would not anticipate the attack that followed.

Without any warning from the advanced sensors the ship possessed, 15 ships appeared suddenly around the _General's glory_ immediately opening fire on the ship with Plasma canons firing large bolts at high velocity of extremely hot plasma. The _Glory_ immediately raised its shields at the bequest of the Asgard Officer, Freya, and a call to actions stations echoed calling every crew member off duty, beaming them directly from their position on the ship to reinforce the sectors of the ships more vulnerable to attack, followed by a general alert to every ship in the fleet and the planet bellow.

The attackers were ships in the form of a star with nine arms reminiscent of the Cylon Basestars but sporting a much improved technology base. The crew immediately returned fire, at first with their Alteran Drones while the Heavy Laser Beams were charged for a rapid breach in the ships encircling the Super Dreadnought to allow the ship some space to maneuver. However the Commander of the Super Dreadnought was astonished to discover a shield glowing briefly with the impacts of the Alteran Drones, partially halting their advance although the sensors detected a sudden drop in the enemy's shield strength before the Drones finally were able to phase through the shields only to be destroyed by point defense system based on energy weapons.

The Admiral suddenly arrived, after making the short route from the corridor where all personnel assigned to the bridge was beamed to in case of an emergency and witnessed the destruction of the third attacking ship coming apart under the massive swarm of Alteran Drones draining rapidly the enemies' shields and finally striking at the core of the Basestars.

Admiral Delterre, his face showing his astonishment at the data he was reading, detached his eyes from the technical readout from the sensors before focusing on the Holographic display and analyzed quickly the situation. While the _General's glory_ was encircled by 12 ships, the rest of the fleet was in more precarious situation. A Dreadnought or Super-Dreadnought class of ships was designed to attack via multiple vectors to respond to multiple types of attack. However the Heavy Carrier and Cruisers of a fleet were more susceptible to attacks made from capital ship even if said capital ships were technologically less advanced. Quickly he finalized his deductions of the situation before sending his orders to the Commanders of the ships to make a breach in the formation and free some space around them. He also send a more detailed message down on the planet to warn the people of the 13th Tribe that these ships were enemies only to receive a message back from the Tribe's Government that the Terran Federation's enemies were of no concern to them and that they had complete faith in their defenses and did not require any help.

The Cruisers were moving rapidly, trying to avoid a maximum of the enemy's Plasma Cannons by using their natural maneuverability while at the same time deploying their contingent of drones to attack several ship simultaneously. They weaved on and off around the Heavy Carriers, trying to protect them while they deployed their contingent of Arrows to engage the enemy fighters heading toward them and participating in the battle.

The _Mesopotamia_ was suddenly flanked by 2 Neo base Stars before both ships, severely damaged from Drones impacting against their hulls, swerved toward it in an impact course. Seeing the danger it was in, the _Mesopotamia_ escaped the first kamikaze attack by concentrating its Drones on it but was unable to completely avoid the second Neo Base Star. The _Mesopotamia_, its port wing completely destroyed, lost containment in its Neutrino ion generators and exploded taking with it another Neo Base Star nearby. Thankfully, the _Avatar of Hope's_ Asgard officer was monitoring the situation with its sensors and beamed out of the ship all the personnel still alive onboard. From the hundred originally that crewed the cruiser, only 62 could be saved, the rest having died when the ship was damaged by the first kamikaze attack.

The Heavy Carriers possessing the strongest shields in the Fleet were left relatively untouched as the plasma bolts that managed to collide with their shields barely made a dent in its strength, but their contingents of _Arrows_ were in heavy fights trying to destroy the horde of Serpentine Raiders aiming to hit the Heavy carriers with either their plasma cannons or by physically ramming themselves using their FTL drives to appear in the shields as that tactic had good results for them in the past. The _Arrows_ still held a clear advantage over the _Serpentine Raiders_ has they were more maneuverable and had more precise firepower than the new raiders who had difficulty targeting the _Arrows_ with their Plasma cannons. Even with a 2 to 1 Ratio against them, the _Arrows_ were keeping the Raiders at bay as for the moment the losses were minimal and the Arrows were slowly but surely repelling their attack.

From the 57 Neo Basestars of the initial attack only 25 remained in condition to pursue the fight against the 25th Fleet barely a half hour later, the rest slowly losing hull integrity and with shields failing rapidly, or completely destroyed. As one the remaining Neo Basestars currently not attacking the Fleet turned toward the planet, opening their ports and sending a thousand breaching pods toward Gaiatena covering their descent by opening a large salvo with their plasma canons. The Planet's defense grid tried to intercept a maximum of the breaching pods but they already had to intercept the heavy bombardment from the Neo Basestars trying to bring them back to the Stone Age.

As the first Sage threatened when the 25th Fleet first arrived, the defenses protecting the planet were powerful. Contrary to the Terran federation which uses satellites in geosynchronous orbit around a planet, the 13 Tribe, like the Tollan before them, used planetary Cannons placed strategically around the world to strike directly the attackers or in this case intercepting the breaching pods and plasma shots.

Unfortunately the defense screen was not perfect and several breaching pods were able to impact the Capital and to the fright of the inhabitants Cylon Praetorians started immediately engaging the tribe's High Guard to take control of the Capital while the ships in orbit kept bombarding the defense cannons with heavy plasma bolts, not even moving when the freed Terran ships targeted them.

The 4 Dreadnoughts and the Super Dreadnought finally destroyed the last Neo Basestars attacking them and turned all their Firepower to destroy the remaining Neo Basestars bombarding the planet.

Every command chair in the Terran Fleet focused their Drones, while the targeting systems selected a new mark for their Heavy Laser Beam, concentrating their fire on the 12 remaining Cylon Ships currently bombarding the planet directly. Within seconds the incredible dance of lights indicating the successful launch of drones illuminated space between the 2 fleets on a direct course toward the Cylons. The remaining Serpentine Raiders in order to protect the Neo Basestars proceeded to jump a short distance and acted as a shield to absorb the first assault of the drones with their hulls. That tactic was however doomed to fail as the incredible firepower contained in those drones and their sheer number was simply too overwhelming. Before the Neo Basestars could even jump to safety as per their usual modus operandi they were hit at full power from the remaining drones still numbering in the hundreds and the Six Heavy Laser Beams punching through their shields and burrowing deep into their hulls. While the Drones partially phased themselves to bypass altogether the shields, the Heavy Laser simply overwhelmed the shields forcing them to short out by pure concentrated force. Their systems critically hit, the Neo Basestars either drifted slowly into the atmosphere or imploded when their generators reached critical failure, lighting the sky ok Gaiatena with mini novas and sending a mass of Electro Magnetic waves in every direction causing massive damages to the planet's infrastructure and hitting heavily the Terran Space Navy's shields.

The battle was finally finished but unfortunately the repercussions on the diplomatic front would be disastrous. The 13 Tribe had clearly shown their dislike of the Terran Federation and they would no doubt hold them responsible for the appearance of the Cylon Fleet that attacked them.

One thing was sure, the people of the 13 Tribe's government hoping for a rapid dismissal of the Terran Federation would be disappointed for even if the Terran Federation was not responsible for the actions of their enemies, further contact would have to be maintained to help them.

As the Admiral ordered an assessment of the damages done to his fleet and to the planet bellow, Director Pedersen was already preparing his notes for the future meeting with the Council of Sages who would be shouting for reparations.

******

In a stone chamber located high within the Free Jaffa Nation's Capital was assembled the Jaffa Council of Brothers. The Council was composed of the more powerful Jaffa Warlords of the Free Jaffa Nation and was not limited in its members. Each Jaffa holding a seat on the Council was practically a head of state due to the size of their domain and armies, ruling hundreds of systems and their resources.

While the Terran Federation represented the more technologically advanced faction in the Milky Way Galaxy, the Free Jaffa Nation was the group holding the bulk of the Galaxy's resources and jealously protected its domain by maintaining a constant level of military action to dissuade any action toward its territory. But while the Free Jaffa presented a united front for the protection of their brothers, the individual warlords still tried to increase the borders of their domains not by attacking the other warlords as the Goa'ould System Lords would have done but instead by annexing in their borders the primitive worlds on the fringe.

The Terran Federation had at first strongly opposed that expansion done at the cost of stifling the emerging civilizations barely out of the Stone Age. However the Federation was not about to start a war against one of their oldest allies over the displacement of populations not hurt in the process of their relocation to another planet. But the Federation drew the line at the annexation of worlds under their direct protection.

Kalina was a peaceful world not far from the limits of the Jaffa Warlord Keffu, home to a civilization of just entering the Industrial Era and with a population of 76 Millions. The Kalinans were a displaced people originally taken from the studies done on their culture, from the Native American Tribes almost 2 000 years ago and enjoyed a peaceful life without wars for at least 500 years and symbolized for the archeologist a preserved Native American culture without the external influence that caused so much damage on Earth with the discovery of the Americas. For the Ministry of Culture, the preservation and protecton of that world was of the utmost importance and no contact whatsoever had been allowed between the Terran Federation and the Kalinans, first to respect the First contact protocols and second to allow this unpresented opportunity to allow a preserved Native American civilization to develop at their natural pace. The Contact Office believed that with their current speed of development, a first contact may be possible on 200 to 300 years after the creation of their first Inter stellar Drive.

For the moment, several observation Satellites were placed in orbit and cloaked to provide a warning system in case of emergencies and to observe their culture without interference.

But even the best laid plans of mice and men could not predict every event. While the Terran Federation did criticize the expansionist tendencies of the Free Jaffa Nation, they did have a understanding that any planet under the protection of the Terran Federation were to be left alone, which included outside the old Asgard protected planets, any planet with Terran Federation Satellites in orbit. Save for foolish raiders and pirates, no one had ever dared incur the Terran federation's wrath by attacking one of their protected planets as unlike the Asgard, that protection was all but a bluff and the Terran Army responded to such threats with the full might of their armada and without any mercy. It was almost a sacred duty for the inheritors of the Asgard and Alterans legacies to protect the various populations seeded in the Galaxy and while the Federation was not perfect they took their role very seriously. And this was why the current Terran leadership did not anticipate the source of the attack.

Emerging from Hyperspace, a fleet of 8 Ha'tak took positions around the Kalinan world, hiding behind 4 of the seven moons of the planet. The Terran Satellites detected them and send a warning message of the planet's status. The response from the Jaffa was quick. From the lead Ha'tak's canons emerged a bolt of Plasma, hotter than a sun's core, which rapidly crossed the distance and destroyed the Satellite. Each remaining Ha'tak suddenly shot toward empty space, hitting the concealed remaining Satellites, utterly destroying them but not before they sent an alert to the nearest Terran Space navy ship and a data burst containing the latest moments on a subspace frequency used for emergencies.

The hostilities had begun between the 2 super powers.


	14. Chapter 13

Here is the next chapter of the story. Sorry for the long wait but with finals, holidays and work i did not find the time to finish it before.

Enjoy and Review !

**Chapter 13**

The Ha'taks were orbiting the planet, preparing their starships to enter the atmosphere and gain control of this world in the name of their Leader and Warlord, Keffu. For a long time this world situated just outside of Lord Keffu's territory had attracted the attention of the Jaffa's Council but until now, none of them had the sheer gall to try to invade it, mainly because of the protection afforded to it by the Terran Federation. But now, after decades of little skirmishes and disputes over worlds at the periphery of their domains, Lord Keffu had enough and ordered seven of his advanced Ha'tak to conquer the planet.

While Keffu knew that his Ha'tak, the advanced models derived from the leftover technology gathered from Anubis and Ba'al, were inferior technologically to the Terran Armada, the sheer numbers the Free Jaffa Nation was capable of mustering to oppose the Terran Space Navy, made their advantage far less of a concern for the Jaffa Nation. After the fall of the Goa'ould System Lords, many secret laboratories had been found by the Free Jaffa and their secrets studied. The Jaffa themselves, while far from stupid, were not versed in the study of technology and their incorporations in ship and weapon design and all those secrets were of no use to them until the capture of several Goa'ould scientists. Whereas the system Lords had been cunning strategists, the actual technology research was left in the hands of minor Goa'oulds who specialized in them and leased their services for protection. Those same minor Goa'ould, at least those who had not fallen at the hands of the replicators, Free Jaffa and Terrans had simply changed their allegiance and offered their services to the emerging Free Jaffa Nation in secret of their Terran Allies. While the Terrans held the title of more advanced Race in the galaxy with the Asgard and Ancient legacies, the Jaffa held the title of the strongest faction, at least in the beginning. And the opportunistic Goa'ould jumped at the occasion to enter in their service when they proved incapable to understand the intricate systems left by the System Lords. In consequence, if the technology base of the Jaffa Nation was still far behind that of the Terran Federation, their lines of production unencumbered by the need to decorate each individual ship as a tribute to a god like the previous Goa'ould builders, exceeded the Terran shipyards with a factor of 4 to 1. This allowed them to field 10 times the number of ships and that was without even counting the personal armies of each individual Warlord held, which numbered in hundreds of Ha'tak and Alkesh ships and thousands of Death Gliders.

As it stood, the Jaffa Nation was using standard Ha'Taks, as well as the Alkesh and Ha'tak variant prototype started by Anubis and used as a Fleet's Flagship. All of these ships are equipped with Ancient derived shields and Heavy Plasma Cannons enhanced by the use of a new power generator developed by Anubis and using Naquadria instead of Naquadah. While Earth was unable at the time of their study and tentative use of the Naquadria to develop a stable power generator, Anubis was able to succeed and all his research was then taken other by the Goa'ould researchers working for the Jaffa Nation.

Unfortunately for them, Naquadria was not a naturally occurring substance but the instable irradiation of a natural vein of Naquadah and one they only produced with an efficiency of 15 to 1. The Jaffa were as a result in dire need of resources and more importantly Naquadah almost depleted in their territories from the massive mining done first by the Goa'ould during their millennia of dominance over the galaxy but also because of the conversion rate for the transformation of Naquadah into Naquadria.

Kalina was for the Jaffa Keffu the ideal trophy to elevate his status among his Jaffa Brethren in the Council. With its rich deposits of Naquadah and semi industrial civilization, Kalina provided a much too tempting target for a Jaffa Warlord whose sole shining moment came after the slaying of its master and god Aries by the Tau'ri humans.

At the time of his Lord's demise, he was the First Prime's second and responsible for the relocation of Aries treasure while the First prime and his Lord went searching onboard one of the 4 remaining Ha'tak in Aries's fleet for a new world to hide.

After the defeat of Aries and the power vacuum that appeared, he rejoined the Free Jaffa Nation, carefully maneuvering his subordinates in the Free Jaffa ranks using the massive treasure left behind by his former master while he himself bided his time before accessing the rank of Jaffa Councilor after Master Teal'c's death. For him, more than the resources they were able to seize from the Kalinan world, it was the opportunity to prove to the entire Free Jaffa Nation that he was worthy of his place as a Jaffa Warlord. While his strategic skills were not his best asset, his cunning mind more than made up for his failings and as he knew that the response for the attack on the Terran Federation protected world would be swift he also knew that such a response would goad the other Jaffa Warlords into declaring war upon the Terran Federation and their arrogant leaders. For too long the Terran Federation had lorded their superior technology away from the Jaffa Nation and the tensions were running high. The Terran Federation, while allied with its neighboring super power, would not share its advanced technology, requiring the instauration of democratic systems and the liberation of Jaffa worlds held since the time of the Goa'ould.

Soon, the Free Jaffa Nation and its vast armies of Jaffa Warriors would lay waste on the overconfident Terran Federation.

**********

**New Amsterdam, Battleship **_**Vultur Gryphus**_** .**

Commander Adamson was looking over the final reports from the engineers and ship quartermasters for his ship and finally after their test drive with a skeleton crew during the last week, the ship's complement of _Arrows_, _Fishers_ and _Marauders_ as well as a full crew including both Terran Space Navy personnel as well as 3 full divisions of Space Troopers and a battalion of Special Forces had embarked the battleship and taken their quarters.

Closing his terminal he exited his ready room, hurrying to the first meeting with the entire command staff of the battleship, still in admiration of the new designs introduced with this class of ships in the structure of the command bridge. Unlike previously designed command centers in the Terran Army, the Battleship's bridge designs were arrayed in several defined zones where each aspect of the ship could be commanded separately and in total coordination. While the Bridge itself was situated for maximum protection in the bowels of the ship, the actual piloting portions of the bridge were situated in the forward bridge with the Commander's Ready Room followed immediately via an open overpass by the Auxiliary control and the 4 Drone Control Chairs to finish at the tactical room with an attached ready room for the Rear Admiral's use.

Passing by the overpass he checked on his crew as they filled their role from coordinating the various sectors of the ship to the Drone control Chairs manned by specialists with a very high level of ATA gene, deeply immersed in the virtual reality opened to their mind and linked to every silo of Drones on the ship as well as the Heavy Plasma batteries.

Entering via the automatic sliding doors protecting the Tactical room from eavesdroppers and the heavy chatter coming from the crew manning their station, he took his place at the Admiral's right side, facing the 3 Colonels who headed the Space Troopers divisions, the Lieutenant Colonel heading the Special Forces and the ship's CMO. Each sector's head was accompanied by their second in command.

Sitting at the head of the conference table, Rear Admiral Kirilov was a 75 year old man born in the Russian Federation of Earth and having made his career exclusively in the Terran Space Navy, having joined the Navy at 22 as an ensign and worked his way through the ranks until he finally accepted this final command before his retirement from his position as the head of the Prototype Field Testing department from the ministry of Defense, situated on New Amsterdam.

After the initial greetings were giving out, the Admiral asked for a report from every sector and then started the mission briefing.

"Gentlemen, our orders are to join with Admiral Jones's 73th Fleet to engage in War games to fully test out our weaponry and allow the crew to get used to the new parameters available with our new battleship. We will also be conducting exercises against Ha'taks captured from the Lucian Alliance several decades ago and fitted with better shields and weapons to simulate the New Ha'taks from the Free Jaffa Nation the military intelligence assures us are currently being build in their shipyards . However I will remind each and every one of you that while the ship is on a test run, I still require from you to be ready to respond to any emergency. Colonels Sato, Williams and De Vrees I want your men ready at a moment's notice, with a rotation between the troops during training to allow a Division to always be fresh for deployment. Lieutenant Colonel Vega I want you to run simulations with your "Ghosts" to train the regular crew against phased opponents, more particularly in detecting them. Federal Intelligence is reporting rumors that some Sodan Jaffa had been captured by the Goa'ould Tanith before his demise at the hands of Master Teal'c of Chulak and that their Phase Modules are being replicated to equip a special assassination unit and in case these rumors prove to be true, I want the crew to be ready. Since this class of ship is to be our new spearhead in battles it stand to reason that the Jaffa will take interest in it. Commander Adamson, since the crew is still new to the ship's dimensions and are for the most part more accustomed to the regular ships in the Terran Space Navy which are not specialized for battle, I want you to run drills for the action station reaction time. Lieutenant Commander Sharif, as our Chief Medical Officer I want you to report to me daily about the psychological condition of the crew. There is bound to be some psychological effects on the more Spartan conditions present in this ship. Any questions? Then this is all for today, dismissed."

While the living conditions of the crew of the _Vultur Gryphus_ were far from uncomfortable since the living quarters were the same as every Terran Space Navy ship, the crew was still bound to be disoriented as the Terran Space Navy personnel was used to a greater level of human contact available to them through live zones. But more than that for married personnel was the loss of the contact with their families who were part of their everyday life on other class of ships in the fleets which were composed of multipurpose ships, unlike the Battleship _Vultur Gryphus_ which was a warship thru and thru designed for long term missions and as such not a place for a soldier's family.

Two hours after the conference the _Vultur Gryphus_ released his moorings from the New Amsterdam Shipyards and started his way to exit the system at a slower pace that it was capable of until it achieved a sufficient distance with the system. A blue white corona appeared in front of the _Gryphus _signaling the opening of a hyperspace window and witnessed by every ship of the system due to its size. Barely a second later, the Terran Starship entered the Hyperspace conduit, en route for the Langarian system for its rally point with the 73th Fleet.

*******

_**Dakara**_**, Free Jaffa Nation Capital.**

Dakara was the most famous world in the Free Jaffa Nation's domain. Shrouded in legends as the birthplace of the first Jaffas and the beginnings of the Prim'ta ceremony of adulthood where the Jaffa received the life force and power granted to them by their gods.

Even after the Jaffa rebellion against the Goa'ould many Jaffa traditions instituted by them still survived their passing like the Prim'ta ceremony reputed to give Jaffa their strength and longevity. While the ceremony had been almost eradicated by Jaffa Master Teal'c and replaced by the injections of tretonin in the older generations, the tradition had been reinstituted by the more traditionalists Jaffa who believed that the Tretonin reduced a Jaffa's might.

Dakara had been almost destroyed a century ago by the Ori forces in search of the Ancient Weapon used by the Jaffa council of the time to kill the invading Ori. The entire mountain sheltering the Ancient Weapon had been razed to the ground by the powerful blasts from the Ori Ship directly from orbit, causing massive damages to the budding Jaffa center. After such devastation on their Capital, the Jaffa Council had decided to completely rebuild their city with every defensive technology they had access to. A century later, the Jaffa Capital was a stronghold were status in the council was more important than valor and politics among the Jaffa Warlords was so fierce that the old Jaffa's were comparing it to the System lords of old.

The Jaffa Warlord Keffu was standing among his allies on the council, displaying proudly the colors of his faction on his robes, waiting for the council to start. On the other side of the council room, his opposition, minor as it was, surrounded their leader, Jaffa Warlord Rya'c, son of Master Teal'c of Chulak. First Councilor Terak entered the room and every member of the Council room took his place in the stands around a large floor where the councilors stood to address their peers.

First Councilor Terak stood up from his place at the center of the stands to address the council. "My fellow Councilors, we are gathered here for a matter of great importance. I just received word that several Ha'taks from Lord Keffu's army just disappeared from the posts assigned to them in the border patrols. I ask formally Lord Keffu for the location of these ships as they are an important resource affected to the defense of the Jaffa Nation as a whole and while they came directly from Lord Keffu's personal forces, once they enter their tour of duty they must obey the wishes of the Council!" With a vehement hit of his fist the First councilor finished showing his displeasure at the situation and sat down turning his head to stare at Lord Keffu.

Lord Keffu simply stood, and calmly made his way to the center of the podium, showing no discomfort in being the center of attention, relishing the fact that he was the central topic of the meeting and ready to show every Councilor in the room, who exactly held all the cards.

"Brothers, for decades we have suffered under the arrogance of the Terran Federation. Their idealistic views, their hording of technology which should be rightfully ours and the pillage they did of our legendary strength. But enough is enough! For years, the technologies developed by our Goa'ould prisoners had been slow to evolve. But after all these decades, the scientists we protected for their knowledge came through with shields and weapons capable to match those of the Terran vermin. Unknown to you, I personally selected volatile situations to test our new weaponry and defenses against the Terran Space Navy. From a little incident near our borders to gifting some of the pirates with partial designs, my new Ha'taks were ready, ready to show the Galaxy that they still had much to fear from us, not as the strong arm of the Goa'ould but as the warriors we are."

Out of Breath after his passionate speech, Keffu glared at the First Councilor and replied with a snarl "As of 12 hours ago, my Ha'taks are holding position in orbit of the Planet Kalina, a rich planet previously protected by the Terrans. With this planet I will show the galaxy that the days of the Terran's domination are over and that the Jaffa's time approaches."

The council erupted in chaos, each side screaming at the other while the First Councilor could only witness in despair the beginning of the fall for the Free Jaffa Nation. Finally having enough of the mounting noise, he signaled one of the Jaffa guards against the wall and ordered him to fire toward the roof with his staff Weapon.

Stunned into silence, the opposition and First Councilor Terac were slowly coming to the inevitable conclusion that Keffu's actions sought. One of the first laws of the Jaffa Council was that if any member of it was under attack from outside forces, then the internal conflicts must be set aside. For the good of all Jaffas, the Council would show a united front. Here, regardless of the causes of who started it, the Terran Federation will be obligated to respond accordingly to such a provocation in the senseless attack of a defenseless world which safety was a matter of pride for the Terran Federation. Since its founding a hundred years ago, no world under the protection of the Terran Federation ever fell under any circumstance. Their reaction would be swift and brutal. While the Terran Federation was a government that preferred diplomacy to military actions, the occupation of a peaceful and primitive world could only be met with violence.

The Council would then have to protect one of its own. In effect, by the actions of only one and after a century of peace, the Free Jaffa Nation was at war with the Terran Federation.

And as he watched the results of his plan, Lord Keffu smiled internally in satisfaction. Soon, the Jaffa would take their rightful place as masters of this Galaxy. And he, Keffu, would then be free to rise as the Jaffa Prime.

******

**60 light years from **_**Kalina**_**, Border Patrol 62**.

The enormous economic traffic occurring between the member worlds, their colonies and the allied worlds where preyed upon by a myriad of pirates equipped with small but fast ships able to enter Hyperspace and armed with enough weaponry to easily take control of larger and slower freight vessels. The tactic they used were designed to take control rapidly of ships to not only steal from their cargo holds but directly change the course of the ship and capture it to be scraped in their bases. Those bases were numerous and disseminated through the galaxy and consisted from old Goa'ould weapons cache to ruins of civilizations decimated by the Goa'ould.

To prevent that kind of threat of plundering raiders, the Terran Federation assigned hundreds of border patrols ranging from grouping of Cruisers to the lone Dreadnought.

Border Patrol 62 consisted of six _Cruisers _from the Terran Space Navy and was running scans on reported signs of activity from raiders, searching for a clue to their hidden base in the sector without alerting them of their presence.

It was as the _Cruisers_ were engaging their Hyper Drives to search another area of space that they received the alert message from the Surveillance Satellite orbiting Kalina, being the nearest Terran Space Navy presence before the Terran Colony world of New Alhambra.

Lieutenant Commander Gering was the senior officer commanding the Patrol and at the lecture of the alert signal gave the order for his patrol to change their course for Kalina. From what the sensors logs sent with the distress signal showed, the attacking ships were Jaffa Ha'tak and clearly out of their control zone. This kind of attack, he knew, could only be designed to take control of a world and as the Kalinan world was under unofficial protection of the Terran Federation, it was their job to respond.

A message was sent to Navy Command, to inform them of their decision and alert the frontier bases along the Jaffa Border. Lieutenant Commander Gering only hoped that they would arrive in time as he knew what kind of damage orbital bombardment could do to a budding civilization like Kalina.

It was in this kind of situation that he wished the demilitarization partisans could see the result of their actions as their frantic combat against the renewal of military technology had the downside of leaving entire pans of their defensive grid vulnerable to sneak attacks like these. Normally, against a threat of 8 Capital ships, regardless of their level of technology, the Terran Space Navy should have responded with a fleet composed of 4 Dreadnaughts and 8 Cruisers to protect the primitive civilians' targets. But with the recent budget cuts brought by the lobbying in the Senate, several old decommissioned vessels had not been replaced and the loss of ships was creating holes in their reaction time.

Without wasting more time he ordered his ship to jump in hyperspace, destination: Kalina.

******

**Kalina, 12 hours after the initial attack.**

A young boy was hiding in the ruins of a house, scurrying for some food for his family. At 15, he had just reached the age of adulthood and was prepared to take the rituals of initiation into adulthood when the sky fell upon their heads. He knew, of course that the sky could not fall but it was the only way his young mind could describe the events that happened a day ago.

He was coming to the market with his mother when thunder and lightning erupted in the sky before a great shape descended from it. Kalina's defense force, lightly armed as it was due to the planet's lack of war since the earliest years of their civilizations when the Tribes disputed over land and resources, immediately responded to the threat but were cut down. The aircraft sent to attack the ship tried to attack but an energy barrier intercepted every slug fired against it. The government had tried to negotiate with the invaders but their attempt had been unsuccessful and the delegation sent was brutally murdered by the Jaffa commander in full view of the general public to make an example.

After the initial attack, his family and him took refuge in an abandoned library to escape the patrols of Jaffa ransacking the capital of valuables and taking every able bodied people in their ships as slaves. Several of their neighbors had been taken from their homes in the middle of the night and they only escaped the same fate thanks to the quick thinking of his father who as the curator of the Cities historical sites knew where the less likely places the invaders would search.

He could only hope that they would leave soon because if not, he didn't think that Kalina would be able to recover. The government had been decimated when the building where they thought they were securely hidden was destroyed from orbit by a plasma bolt and the army was in hiding, what remained of it at least.

Peaking over the corner, he was ready to move again from his hiding spot when he was forcefully pulled and thrown against a wall. Barely recovering from the shock, he backed up when he found himself faced against the weapons of a Jaffa patrol screaming to him in a language he could not understand. Looking from one angry face to another, searching for an escape route he hoped for an intervention from the Spirits because otherwise his next trip would be to an alien ship as a slave.

His captors suddenly turned their head in panic looking as their ship started to rumble, its engines coming to life. They started to run leaving behind their prisoner who looked astonished and barely able to believe that he was free.

The alien ship suddenly rose from the mountain it had landed on at great speed, disappearing in the sky. A similar scene could be witnessed in all 4 places on Kalina where the invaders had landed their massive ships.

The boy could only sit in relief as the stress of his capture left his body and heaving sobs erupted from his mouth. Barely able to control himself he was found by his father 10 minutes later, crying and laughing uncontrollably while staring at the sky were the ships had disappeared to.

**Thirty Minutes earlier, Orbit of the Kalinan world.**

Several vortexes opened spewing forth the six _Cruisers _of Border Patrol 62, which immediately engaged their shields and weapons at maximum power. Each Drone Control chair was manned and the computers were already researching targets for the 2 Plasma Canons placed in the dorsal and ventral ports.

4 Ha'taks were identified in orbit of the planet, keeping guard against any retaliation on the ground forces currently plundering their way through the peaceful Kalinans cities. The sensors could already detect the 4 other ships on the planet starting their reactors to rise from the ground having surely detected their hyperspace windows.

Lieutenant Commander Gering signaled his com officer to hail the Jaffa's, hoping for a peaceful resolution of the conflict but anticipating the fight waiting for them. This time the Jaffa had no excuse as Kalina was not directly against their borders and offered no viable threat to them as they were still in the early phases of air flight. The official Terran Policy when it came to the Free Jaffa Nation was complicated: if the conflict occurred against a Terran protected planet or a any affiliated party, the Commanding Officer had all powers to decide the course of action needed. However if the conflict involved parties independent from the Terran Federation, the course was left to the Foreign office and the Diplomatic corps.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Gering, Senior Officer commanding this Border Patrol. We order the Jaffa Nation to immediately cease their activities against Kalina and leave this area of space. You are in violation of the treaty of Tadra signed in 2105 by your attack on a Terran Federation Culturally protected world and …"

The communication was suddenly cut by the angry voice of the Jaffa Leading the Raiding party.

"I am Itak, Commander of this task force in the name of Lord Keffu. We do not recognize your treaty and are within our rights to exact a tribute from these primitives. Be aware that any actions on your part will be considered an act of war. Now leave foolish Tau'ri!"

Incensed at the words and total disregard of the consequences of their attack on the Kalinans he ordered the ships under his command to engage the Jaffa ships.

"Then so be it. We left you Jaffa many chances to redeem yourselves for the atrocities you committed in the names of your gods! We even turned a blind eye to the arrogant behavior so customary of your people but enough is enough. I hope you are proud because you, Itak, will go down in history as the one who made war for his foolish pride!"

The Cruisers swooped down on the orbiting Ha'taks deploying their contingent of Drones. The Ha'taks, seeing the incoming threat took their distances while firing from multiple plasma canons placed around the ship. Apparently the Jaffa had found a counter against the Drones swarm used by almost all Terran ships. The canons fired small plasma bolts targeting the Drones specifically slowing their advance while the Ha'taks took positions farther off waiting for reinforcements from the ships slowly rising from the atmosphere.

Finally free of the planet's gravity the remaining 4 Ha'taks joined their fire with their brethren's trying to overwhelm the Drones. Unfortunately, while the idea was good, it remained insufficient in the face of such an overwhelming attack force of hundreds of Drones and before long 3 of the Ha'taks were venting atmosphere out in the open space while another one exploded when 4 Drones hit simultaneously the reactor compartment.

Sadly for the Terran ships, one cruiser was hit severely by the main canon of one of the Ha'taks. The heavy lance of plasma burned through the shields and speared the _Cruiser_, destroying it instantly. While the Terran Cruisers using Asgard designed shields were incredibly protected, however these shields were only designed to sustain a certain level of firepower and where not up to the task to handle indefinitely the fire capability of a vessel 3 times the size of a Cruiser. Faced with the loss of one of their numbers, 2 cruisers swooped high and destroyed the offending Ha'tak with both of their Plasma canons.

With 3 Ha'taks heavily damaged and 2 destroyed, commander Itak was ready to order a retreat but not before ordering a last attack. The new Heavy Plasma cannons installed in their ships were designed to punch through shields by overwhelming them with pure power. However the energy requirements necessary were such that after each shot, the weapon had to cool down for at least a few minutes or cause the ship to be critically damaged. Already several of his Ha'taks were so damaged that their heavy plasma canons were inoperable. Thankfully the Goa'uld scientists were already working on a solution to this problem and soon the heavy plasma cannons would be useable with a greater rate of firepower.

He spotted 2 of the cruisers fighting the 3 damaged Ha'taks and ordered his 2 last undamaged ships to concentrate their firepower on them while they were already occupied and ordered his helmsman to prepare a course for a speedy retreat.

Unsuspecting of the attack, the 2 cruisers were trying to cripple the Jaffa ships to disable them since they were part of the ships sent to plunder the planet and might carry prisoners, and thus were unprepared for the firepower that waited for them. In a horrifying move one ship was cut in two when its weakening shields collapsed right before the Plasma lance hit. The other Cruiser was barely moving away when one of the crippled Ha'tak exploded near enough that its shields were severely damaged and a lucky shot from one of the remaining Ha'tak destroyed it.

Seeing that no other victory awaited them here, Itak ordered the retreat and was able to escape with the last 2 almost undamaged Ha'taks of the task force, leaving behind 2 crippled ships unable to follow. While he was far from victorious he knew that the objective had been met. The new defenses and armaments were successful against the hated Terran technology and the development at a bigger echelon could be started. The Goa'uld scientist had correctly deduced that while the Drones were perfectly capable to bypass a shield by briefly and partially going out of phase, phasing through a plasma bolt was impossible for them as the plasma matter elevated to such a temperature left trails that the Drones where unable to phase through without suffering damage.

As soon as the Ha'taks were gone, Lieutenant commander Gering ordered his com officer to open a channel to Fleet Headquarters. He knew that this battle would incense the Terran Senate. The loss of 3 cruisers out of 6 of his patrol was a devastating shock to the Terran Space Navy, accustomed to Space superiority for decades now. Furthermore the fact that the enemy was able to escape was a slap in the face for him as the commander of the task force was able to escape retribution from the Terran Justice. The remaining crippled Ha'tak would go nowhere as his sensors indicated that their hyper drives had been hit and effectively marooned them. Such a provocation could not be tolerated and this time no excuses would appease the Terran Leadership.

The Jaffa Nation had awoken a giant and he could already imagine the people screaming to unleash the dogs of war.

******

**The Hub, in Hyperspace nearing the edge of the Terran Federation, Milky Way Galaxy.**

The Cylons were unyielding in their desire to take back control of the hub. From sneak attacks at all hours to full blown assaults, nothing the Terran Space Troopers did was deterring them for long before they tried again. The Cylons had tried to liberate their Humanoid counter part imprisoned in their quarters but the force field installed as prison bars had been for the moment unbreakable for them even if it had resulted in the death of some of the prisoners who had tried to short circuit the force field only to kill themselves in the release of the energy contained.

And finally, after days of combat against the courageous but exhausted Terran Space Troopers, the Cylons had attained their primary objective when disabling Human crewed ships, the life support systems: when the calls to the Auxiliary Control went unanswered, Colonel Gerard took the appropriate measures and ordered his men to deploy their helmets. Each Space Trooper's armor was equipped with a retractable helmet able to sustain them for 2 days. As the systems failed in the space station every Space Troopers was glad they activated their helmet and to the Cylon's surprise the loss of atmosphere did nothing to impair the soldier's ability to fight. As the gravity failed, the Troopers activated the magnetic mode of their boots to remain on the ground. Unluckily for the Human form Cylons, their mechanical brethren were not as subservient to them than their counterpart and did not hesitate to dam the two thousand seven hundred Human Form Cylons to a painful and horrible death without hope of resurrection.

For the next two hours the fighting increased incredibly until the remaining Space Troopers were pushed back to the limits of the Station's bridge and the engineering level where the Hyperdrive was installed, barely keeping the Cylons at bay. Even with their technological advantage using shields to barricade themselves and energy weapons, the close quarters settings of the fights almost negated their advantage against the Cylons that used their integrated blades to do a lot of damage. Fortunately the deaths had been rare as the nano bots integrated in their armor's systems were able to heal most of their injuries or at least put the trooper in a state of deep sleep until a medic could be brought in to help the injured soldier.

For the moment Colonel Gerard was glad that he had only lost 15 Troopers of his original two hundred and glanced again at the display in front of him. The intergalactic hyper drive installed recently by the engineers was powerful enough to send the whole Hub to another galaxy in just over a week, and he was really thinking of sending a case of whatever beverage these engineers drank as a gift because it was a testament to their work ethic that the drive they installed in an unknown type of ship was able to go that far without any problem whatsoever during the long travel. His men and himself were exhausted and the relentless fighting against the machines brought many of his men to their knees even with the nano bots cocktail cursing through their veins, making him understand the deep hatred the Colonials had against the tin cans. Contrary to the Troopers, the Colonial SDF did not possess the kind of weaponry the Terran Army benefited from and he could imagine the kind of helplessness they had felt when the engagements began against the Cylons.

The display in front of him steadily showed him their progression on their road to the pre-defined location where a Terran fleet awaited them hopefully in a day. The Joint chiefs had mobilized 2 _Grand Fishers_, a dozen _Fishers_ and a hundred _Cruisers_ to the location where the Star base _Tartadis Ocean_ was originally situated. With this amount of fire and manpower he had no doubt the Cylons infestation onboard the Hub would be quelled rapidly.

He checked the battery level of his armor, satisfied to see still a month of power available to him. Contrary to popular belief, the armor and weapons available to the Terran Space Troopers and Special Forces needed a resupply of energy every trimester or so. While many believed the Terran armor provided an unlimited number of firepower, it was only an illusion. With the kind of equipment each Terran Space trooper sported, a powerful energy source was required and so far no one had figured how to make one limitless. The Liquid Naquadah/Naquadria power cell, not bigger than 2 thumbs could provide enough energy for an armor in idle up to 5 months while in combat it could sustain the armor and its powerful weapons for up to 2 months.

Turning the holographic screen of his command armband ON, he displayed the photos of his family taken only four months before in his native colony of Arkania, four hundred light-years from Earth. He still remembered the day the picture was taken on the colonial day of independence for Arkania when the yearly referendum organized in every colony was successful after 35 years as an Earth Colony. His wife and 4 children had all embarked with him in his boat, a 75 meters long catamaran he had built himself on the shore of the Great Tarmin Lake where his family property was situated. To incite the pioneers of the new wave of colonization to settle on the selected planets, the Terran government had bestowed the settlers with a significant amount of land that he had inherited at the death of his father and where he had built his house. His wife managed the profits from his land where rare woods grew and were harvested to make incredible sculptures sold all over the Terran Market of arts and particularly on Hebrida where the Woods used to make the sculptures were a prized commodity for the alien population of the industrial world.

Closing the screen, he straightened up before leaving the small office near the bridge and relieved his second in command, Major Willis from his post. They worked in shifts of 6 hours so that each commanding officer could be at command well rested to face the day and allow their subordinates to always have someone to defer to in case of a major decision.

Another long day of fighting could start.

******

After the successful establishment on the new home world, the Colonial Government had started to rebuild the infrastructure needed to nourish an exponentially growing population. After the food production needs had been established and the flourishing and lucrative contracts signed with the Terran Industries to manufacture the limited in range but smaller Colonial FTL, the government had started the construction of schools and nurseries for the baby boom just waiting in the side lines. Already, 42% of the feminine population was in the initial stages of pregnancy and 10% were in the latest stages. As soon as the Colonial Government had been stabilized with the newest additions from the Colonies' survivors, the needed policies had been instituted. The presidential decision to forbid abortion was still in effect until such a time that the demographic numbers were good enough for a stable growth of the population naturally and many financial aids had been created to incite the inhabitants to have children as well as rights to bigger accommodations in the City.

The educational system had been entirely remodeled to accept the new realities and facts coming from the Terran Federation. In the federation, the school system was based on 2 levels, the first obligatory for children from age 5 to 17 provided the basic education to allow the Federation's citizen to start their lives with the awareness necessary to be safe in the galaxy at large and not only within the borders of the Federation itself. From Xenobiology to languages and technology, every subject was carefully tailored to a population whose playground was the Milky Way Glaxy. The second level was provided freely to those having finished the first level, and was without any limit of age or condition. This level was a mirroring of the old universities of Earth before the creation of the Terran Federation, however unlike them, the education provided was free allowing a larger portion of the population to have access to a higher level of instruction. Thanks to this system, illiteracy was banished even in the more remote worlds and the Terran work pool was one of the most qualified in the Milky Way galaxy.

This new system had been implanted since the beginning to allow the children to acclimate to the entry into the Terran Federation. The location of the schools had been chosen to facilitate the access of the children and every school was near a transportation pad.

**New Kobol, Athena School for Youngsters.**

The children were seated in one of the classrooms in the newly built Athena School. For the moment, only a thousand children were attending the school but the edifice was ready to welcome ten times that number easily.

The new Headmistress, former President of the Colonies Laura Roslin, had refused a post as secretary of education in the Adama Administration as she refused to re enter the political world. After her successful remission from her breast cancer and her retirement from public life, she had taken a well deserved 2 months of sabbatical leave with the man she loved, Bill Adama, and had only returned when she was offered the position of head of the first Colonial school established on New Kobol under the Terran Federation's standards.

She knew that this was a requirement from the Provisional membership treaty since she had signed it, and she was adamant to be the one to help integrate it in the lives of the children she had so loved when she was just a schoolteacher.

While the building of the school had been finished very quickly, the recruitment of competent teachers had been a nightmare since few people had the necessary credentials. With some help from the new Secretary for Education and Cultural Awareness she was able to secure the services of a competent staff.

She was still required to teach some classes and she did so with pleasure, specializing in teaching to the children, the history both factual and clerical to help perpetuate the roots of their civilization even if that page of their history had been turned.

She activated the projector and turned to face the class "Very well, who can tell me which of the Gods gave us our true history and which one saved us from the fall of Kobol?"

Several hands rose to respond to the question and she pointed to one of the Girls located at the back. Hearing the correct responses she congratulated the little girl of 10 and explained in more details the circumstances of the revelations.

A lifting hand stopped her explanation and she gave permission for the young boy to speak.

"Ma'am, is it true what the books are saying that the Gods were once humans like us? My Father says that he doesn't believe it. He says the Gods couldn't have been like us since they were superior beings!" The child was visibly confused and didn't know whom to believe since he loved his father and his history book hadn't completely satisfied his curiosity.

Smiling to the young boy, Colin, she brought his file forward on her screen and saw that his family was originally from Sagittaron. Understanding from where came the doubts instilled in her pupil she approached his desk to answer him.

"Well Colin, to respond to your question I will show you something the Terran Federation shared with us after their mission on Kobol. It is something I was planning to show you next week but since you brought up the subject, why not see it now?"

She activated the Holo-Projector again and launched a file on her computer. In front of the whole class appeared the message given to the Special Forces team in the Temple of the Gods. The message, taped by team Delta Omicron Kappa had been forwarded to the colonial Government after it had been analyzed thoroughly by both the Federal Intelligence Service and the Foreign Office. The recording had been a shock to the Colonial Government since it was the first time they had concrete proof of the existence of their Gods, although the term was used loosely with the admission that they had once been beings of flesh and blood. They were still, however, superior beings and the proper respect for that kind of power was to be cultivated since contrarily to their Milky Way counterpart, they were not adverse to affecting the physical plane with their actions.

As the class watched in awe the Holo video she could not help but marvel at the changes affecting the everyday life of the Colonial People since their entry in the Federation. Even before the Holocaust, the Colonial society had felt stagnant with few real changes and a preservation of the old statu quo between the colonies from before the Cylon Rebellion. Caprica stayed focused on its role as the seat of the government, gathering every shred of power it could while Gemenon for example slipped more and more into fanatical dogmatism. But the entry into the Federation provided the opportunity to start again with a clean slate while the Provisional Membership Treaty forced the Government to affect the changes necessary to help the Colonial People evolve as a society. No more would history repeat itself, the cycle was broken.

Closing her eyes she took a moment to center her thoughts before looking at the sea of hands waving for her attention.

She smiled and pointed to Colin's waving hand.

******

**Sol System, Orbit of Mars, Terran Space Navy Headquarters.**

The Terran Space Navy Headquarters were unlike any ever built before in the Milky Way Galaxy. When the System Lord Anubis had attacked Earth with an asteroid, hoping to destroy the planet without alerting the Asgard of his involvement, thus circumventing the Protected Planets Treaty, he provided the Terran Federation with the perfect platform to construct the needed facilities for the developing Terran Space Navy. During the Terran Federation/Aschen war, the lack of a central Headquarters for the Navy was felt and plans were drawn to remedy to that situation as soon as possible. After the war ended with the victory of the Terran Federation, the construction project was launched.

The asteroid used by Anubis was different from other asteroids found in the Solar system because its core was composed of Naquadah. After SG 1's successful mission to save Earth from collision, the Asteroid was hidden in a cluster near the Solar system in case Earth decided to mine its deposits of Naquadah. It wasn't until decades later that the team of engineers tasked with the creation of the Terran Space Navy Headquarters found references of the rock and decided to use it as the Headquarters' "hull". With a length of 137 KM, a width of 61 KM and a depth of 95 KM the available space was enormous and provided a support structure more than sufficient for the nerve center of the entire Terran Space Navy.

The Naquadah found in its core was used and refined via nano technology to cover the entire asteroid in a hundred meter tick armor while the interior was hollowed to make room for the installations necessary. After completion, the Space Navy Headquarters represented the primary system of defense for the protection of the Solar System. Fifteen hundred Drone chairs controlled the two Hundred millions Drones stored inside, ready to be activated to destroy any ship or fleets sent against Earth as well as hundreds of Heavy Plasma Canons installed on its surface while a hangar bay big enough to contain seven entire fleets was built inside the Asteroid.

The Asteroid was also home to 2 millions inhabitants living in a shielded city built on the surface while the literal headquarter was situated deep inside the rock with offices for every branch of the Space Navy as well as the naval academy were cadets from the Terran Army entered for their specialization. Unlike previous Earth militaries which left the handling of their academies to the branches themselves, the Terran Army run things differently due to the massive human resources they used: each major colony or member world housed a recruitment center used to prepare the recruits for the first part of their training for a year. After the successful completion of the basic training they were sent to the relevant academies for their training: Terran Space Navy Headquarters in the Sol System, Vis Uban for the Space Troopers and Alcantra for the Special Forces.

It was in her office in the H.Q., that Admiral Deforest, Second Triumvir of the Space Navy Triumvirate received word of the Jaffa attack on Kalina. The Terran Space Navy was headed by a Triumvirate of three Admirals of equal power, all of them members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Ministry of Defense.

The Admiral, a woman of 82, was first shocked then incensed when she read the report from Border Patrol 62. Not only had the Jaffa attacked a peaceful world under their unspoken protection, they also looted it liked pirates without any respect for the damages they caused to a world that had known no war for two centuries and offered almost no resistance!

She knew as soon as she saw the targeted world that it was not only the resource value of Kalina that mattered to them but more the impact their attack had on the Terran Federation's reputation. This slap in the face from one of their so called allies could not, and would not be well received by the Terran government and anticipating the President's demands she sent the order to mobilize every asset the Space Navy disposed of including canceling the shore leave accorded to fleet personnel and activating the reservists in the defense fleets across the Terran Federation member worlds. The threat alert on all Terran Space Navy ships was put on Red Level 2 in case the Jaffa decided to attack directly one of the member worlds.

She turned toward her videophone and sent a visual message to the other 2 triumvirs to schedule a meeting and inform them of the situation. Closing the terminal she watched the personal Moto of the Triumvirate under the seal in her office: "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst".

She couldn't think of a more appropriate quote for the situation.


	15. Chapter 14

AN 1 : Sorry for the loooooong wait. The chapter was ready early december to be posted, however a burglar broke into my home and stole everything he could take including my Macbook with the only copy of the finished chapter inside.

Don't expect another chapter before the end of february but since the ideas are flowing these days you might have a surprise.

As always, Reviews are welcome !

AN 2 : In response to reviewers who pointed out to me the lack of quotations marks i rectified the error. Originally the chapter had the quotations mark however the document manager did not accept the first .docx version i tried to upload so i had to upload a .html version. Unfortunately it screwed up my formatting and i did not notice the lack of quotations. Otherwise the chapter is the same.

Chapter 14

**Uncharted Territories, Cylon Homeworld, Cyrannus system.**

The Messenger god stood waiting for the end of the report. His subordinate, one of the Cavil's, was currently informing him of the result of the battle to retake the Hub. Listening to the seemingly old man, the Messenger God let his mind wander t the strategies he started to input to deal with the return of the hated Ones. A part of his fleet was already making advances on the supposed location of their base but the research was slow going since the base was not near any known Colonial or Cylon position, deep in uncharted space.

Cavil, having finished his report, was still kneeling in front of his god, waiting for him to acknowledge or dismiss him. He knew he would not get scot free from the encounter since the failure of the mission was his responsibility. With the powerful taskforce assigned to him, he should have been able to retake the Hub and capture those who had dared defy His will; he had even boasted to the other lines that he gave the One God his personal assurance to the success of the mission. But he had not foreseen the escape of the Hub in hyperspace and could not prevent the Terran Federation to steal the most precious of their holdings thereby failing the mission he had the charge and shaming his entire line.

The Hub was lost forever and with it, the central nexus designed by their god and which granted them immortality. Because of the actions of the Terran Federation and his failure, he had lost his race one of their greatest advantages.

The Messenger God finally turned around without a word, barely a glance in the direction of the supplicant at his mercy. Slowly, as if time had no matter for him he strolled toward a nearby console and activated the holographic projector built into it. In front of Cavil, still kneeling on the golden hued floor, the three-dimensional image of a large planet appeared. The planet curiously did not appear to have an atmosphere, seemed to be made entirely of metal, and was part of a system were no sun was present which was theoretically impossible. The image of the planet suddenly zoomed in and Cavil realized with stupefaction that what he believed to be a planet was in fact a gigantic structure in space and by the placement of the planets in the system was in fact enveloping the sun.

"The Hub was a gift I gave you, my children, for your own usage, however it was barely the tip of my might. Like the godly fleet I created as my personal guard, this is the world I created to suit my needs. The loss of the Hub was unfortunate but in the long run not something irreplaceable."

He slowly circled the holographic projector until he came to face the kneeling man a slight smile on his thin face. " This world was created for one reason, to prepare for the return of the hated Gods and their minions. Now that they have returned my armies are ready to bring them to their knees but they will need competent commanders and this is where you, my children, will fulfill your role. The role for which you were born and raised."

He calmly left the projector and turned his back on the cavil returning to his position near the gigantic window. Sensing the dismissal in the casual way that his God turned his back on him, Brother Cavil silently stood and prepared to leave the room when the Messenger God's voice stopped him.

"There is however one remaining issue I must address with you my dear Cavil."

His back stiffened at the cold undertone in the voice of the God as he slowly turned around to see that the Messenger God had turned his body completely with his hands displayed in front of him.

"You see my child, I am afraid your line has proved defective. You have greatly disappointed me and unfortunately if I can't trust you with such a simple task like reclaiming a lost gift, how could I trust you to command my armies. Unluckily for you in that case, you are of no more use to me. "

As he finished his phrase he revealed his hands and the golden circlets that ensnared them. His eyes flashed a terrifying red and before Cavil could move a muscle a storm of plasma energy emerged, the powerful current slowly killing him as his brain was liquefied.

The body slowly fell as the energy destroyed the nerve endings and the connection to the muscles that allowed him to remain standing was cut. The dark god did not even bother to cast a second glance in the direction of his creation and turned toward a console.

He activated the communication protocols and sent a signal to all his forces. Across the entirety of his domain the Neo Cylons received the same message: to End the Cavil Line.

His face not even showing a hint of emotion, the Messenger God calmly returned to his throne and as he sat down he activated again the Holographic projector showing his masterpiece. It took 2 thousands years, but he succeeded where the Hated Ones, the Alterans, failed. What was known in the Terran Federation as a Dyson sphere and what the Alterans had tried so hard to create was a device created to harness the power of a star and thus provide unlimited energy. Surrounding completely the sun of a distant system, the powerful base of the Messenger God allowed him to create virtually anything he desired. From his fleet of powerful ships to the armored shells of his Neo cylons, He was ready to deliver His wrath upon the Hated Ones. And this time there would be no interference from the ascended, he had made sure of that when he ordered his creations to attack the Colonies of Kobol. The whole colonial war was only for him a mean to test the Ascended and be sure that a foolish sacrifice like the one Athena made thousands of years ago would not be reproduced by another Samaritan. But no one came to help from those rightful fools and the entire Colonial Civilization had been eradicated. He could now proceed with the rest of his plans and finally pursue the last order he received from his God ten thousand years ago. His vengeance would be done.

He stood up from his throne and shakily made his way toward a door on the side, which slowly opened to reveal a hidden sarcophagus. Barely able to stand, he opened the sarcophagus and lied down on it, the door closing automatically as his head touched the bottom.

As his eyes closed for his rest his thoughts turned toward the next body he was going to inhabit. Every thousand years he changed bodies, discarding the one used up by the sarcophagus and transferring his consciousness to a younger one.

But the human mind was not made to live for so long and the process used to accomplish the transfer was not perfect. Unknowingly, each time Larikos changed bodies, he lost a part of himself at the same time.

**

* * *

Atlantis, Terra, Sol System**. **A day after the attack on Kalina.**

The President of the Terran Federation was the executive leader of the Federation and the Commander in Chief of the Army. Elected directly by the people every 6 years without the possibility of reelection, the position was very demanding as the responsibilities inherent to it were as numerous as the power they gave to its holder. Thankfully the Presidential Council helped the president in his functions.

While a Vice president was the norm for most democratic governments, another way was born from a tragedy that touched the Terran leadership in the year 2058. That year, both the President in function as well as the Vice President died in the catastrophic destruction of the latest Terran Colony, leaving the executive powers of the Terran Federation empty. After the disaster, the Terran Senate voted in extraordinary assembly to create the Presidential Council whose members consisted of every President ever elected to the position and whose sole objective was to counsel the President and if necessary assume the executive powers in case of a vacancy for whatever reason be it death of the President or an investigation by the Head Judge of the Arbiters, the Justice department of the Terran Federation. The creation of the Council was the end of the Vice Presidential position and Theresa Marshall was the last individual elected to the position by the Senate before her death.

At the moment, the entire Presidential Council was in session with the current President at its head. The only subject discussed was the different options available for them in response of the illegal actions done by the Free Jaffa Nation. After the fall of the Goa'uld System Lords, the Free Jaffa constituted by the remaining Jaffa Primes and the heads of the Jaffa Rebellion, Earth was one of the first systems to recognize the Free Jaffa Nation as a government, even though a more democratic administration would have been preferred and the Jaffas had all but rejected their initial offers of help. But even then when the tempers were made more volatile by inflated egos, the brink of war had never been reached.

However, now that point had been breached and if the Terran Federation did nothing it would send a signal of weakness to their enemies and send the sharks out at the smell of fresh blood. For not only had one of the worlds under their protection been attacked but the first rule of no interference in the development of the protected worlds had been broken for the first time in a century. The Fifth Race had failed in their assigned legacy from the other Races.

The debates between the members of the council lasted long into the night and many options were examined, sent forth from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Intelligence and the Foreign Office. The Foreign Office had first brought forward economical sanctions against the Free Jaffa Nation, the Intelligence Office planned for an enormous increase of covert operations done to spread dissension amongst the Jaffa Warlords, in a manner reminiscent of the Tok'ra operations against the Goa'oulds, however while their plan for covert operations would be approved, it was deemed only complementary to a more direct approach. Finally while some in the Military Command had been pushing for all out war, the situation in the Cyrannus System caused the Council to temperate their ardor as with the emergence of a more powerful and more technologically advanced Cylon Armada the Terran Federation was finding itself assaulted on two fronts and it was not the kind of situation any military strategist worth his salt liked to find himself in.

After much deliberations several decisions had been made regarding the military situation: first, the production of four new Battleships of the Vultur Gryphus class had been decided, seeing the successful shake down cruise and the simulated engagements against the upgraded Ha'taks seized from the Lucian alliance and modified with a more powerful technology. The Vultur Gryphus was scheduled to start a tour of the frontier worlds near the free Jaffa Nation's space discreetly to monitor the most likely targets of retaliation from the Jaffa's as well as to provide a show of force to the Jaffa leadership.

Secondly, the increase of Terran Space Navy forces in the Cyrannus Sector with the goal of curtailing the Cylon advance and eradicating as quickly as possible the Cylon threat. In addition to the 102nd and the 97th Fleets currently in action there, the Terran Space Navy Triumvirate decided to sent the 24th, 72nd and 35th fleets in addition to 10 Grand Fishers acting as troop carriers for the 100 000 Space Troopers to be deployed. While such a massive deployment for what appeared to be a technically inferior opponent seemed overkill, the Chiefs of Staff were uneasy by the sudden technological leap the Cylons got out of their hats. And the loss of so many ships from the attack of the 25th fleet in orbit of Gaiatena was a real shock for them.

From the analysis of the battle sent by Admiral Delterre, the only real advantage the Cylons had for the moment was their ability to use their particular FTL drive to move freely on the battlefield instantaneously. The Colonial FTL drive while not as efficient as the Cylon version, was currently studied under license from the Colonial Government by the Terran scientists to uncover its secrets as well as make it more efficient using Terran navigational computers to extend its capabilities, range and precision. The Terran Engineers were currently developing a version based on the Wormhole drive created by the Alterans, which they discovered, was the actual ancestor of the Colonial FTL drive only where the Wormhole drive had only a 50% chance of succeeding in any case with a very powerful energy source and used wormhole technology, the Jump drive was successful at a 100% if well calculated and so small it could be fitted on Shuttles using direct point to point spatial displacement.

Finally, the reactivation of all the mothballed ships of the Terran space Navy and the recall order of all personnel on leave to their units was approved. The influx of nearly 300-mothballed ships of the previous generations was a welcome arrival in the Terran Space Navy armada since their more powerful ships would be used to prepare a spearhead attack in the heart of the Free Jaffa Nation if the situation called for it. Many on the Council had argued that such an attack would only escalate the hostilities but they rapidly deflated in their opposition when footage of the raid on Kalina was projected to the Council. The devastation brought by the Jaffa on the poorly defended civilization was incalculable and the hire of the Council members was stroked once more. The Free Jaffa Nation had to receive a firm message: it was not wise to tickle the sleeping dragon, for its wrath would be terrible.

**

* * *

New Amsterdam, 2 hours later.**

Elisa Treville was the director of the New Amsterdam Shipyards. At 45, this mother of 4 was the Head of one of the more cutting edge technological Shipyards in the Terran Federation and probably the entire Milky Way Galaxy. With a QI of 200 and a mind particularly attuned to solving recurrent problems she had been tasked 10 years ago to rekindle the flame in the famous New Amsterdam Colony, birthplace of the line of ships so successful in the Ashen war that they were still used today. However their reputation had been slowly declining with the failure of multiple prototypes created to replace the aging class of ships used in the Terran space Navy and she had been brought in to take charge of the entire Shipyards, from the scientific research labs to the engineering architects.

She was however stumped by the order she just received via subspace on a secure channel from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For decades the New Amsterdam shipyards had been considered the crown jewel of the Terran Federation war machine and was able to produce an entire fleet worth of ships under a year. With her arrival as the head of the facility, the productivity increased by 67% and to accomplish these results the shipyards benefited from numerous advantages: New Amsterdam was a world rich in mineral deposits like Naquadah and Trinium, the system was well hidden from conventional means of access guarantying its safety and finally the shipyards themselves were completely modular allowing the engineers to choose as they wished the designs to be build by the automated drones.

But even all that could not accomplish what the joint chiefs wanted! The shipyards had just finished the construction of the _Vultur Gryphus_ class prototype and the team of engineers and scientist assigned to the project for the six long years it took to design the ship were hoping for a little down time of their own now that the design had proved itself successful. But to build 4 new battleship of this class in the time it took to build one, she did not know how she would achieve the results they expected of her when the shipyard were only capable to construct one or maybe two if the mobile construction drones expanded their range. She explained her reasoning and objections to the army leadership in her reply. What she received in return were reports indicating that 4 new shipyards with their personnel were ready to be shipped to New Amsterdam as well as the reassigning of a very large contingent of Engineers and Scientists directly from the Terran Science Academy to help the overtired team of New Amsterdam.

As a last measure she called Admiral Hiroshi, the head of the Ship Development Program in the Terran Space Navy and member of the Triumvirate and was still shocked by the response she got.

She had decided to contact the Admiral directly via subspace and his aide held her call until the familiar face of the 60 years old Japanese Admiral appeared on her view screen.

"My dear Elisa, how are you? I know it's not what you expected with the completion of the Vultur, but we have no choice. What I will tell you right now has not been announced to the general public yet but the Federation is arming for war and it is imperative that the new line of ships is ready to exit the shipyards as soon as possible."

Shocked at the news of war she was barely able to maintain her calm with her reply "How is it possible sir? I know the relations between our 2 governments had always been tense especially during the last 10 years but it seem impossible for the situation to have evolved so rapidly! I thought we would have more time to be ready for such an occurrence and our best strategists gave us 3 more years to prepare."

Nodding calmly to her the Admiral replied, " Yes they did but several events shot to hell their predictions. First, the asylum we offered the Colonial Government of the Cyrannus sector and the appearance of their own brand of FTL drive on the market was met with a severe anxiousness from the Jaffa war leaders who chose to view it as a potential weapon against them. Secondly, the death of War Lord Far'ok, one of the more pro-Federation on the council, allowed Warlord Keffu's faction to replace him with someone more in line with his way of thinking. In the end, the attack on Kalina, a world barely out of the industrial age, was the last drop. The Space Navy intervened and destroyed several Ha'tak when they repelled the invaders. You know as well as I from your first years of school the traditions of the Jaffa could only result for them by a formal declaration of war for the death of their men. We are at an impasse and unfortunately war is almost certain. The President is ready to issue a formal declaration himself in front of the Senate tomorrow and has ordered the entirety of the Terran Federation's war machine to be ready to respond"

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye "Very well Admiral. Our facilities will be ready to welcome the new mobile Shipyards and personnel. I will inform my teams that their leave has been cancelled and that they must prepare themselves to enter a state of massive production. The mining nanobots will be increased to match the production so that no shortage of raw material can slow the constructions. But Admiral I am not sure if your expectations will be met! This is almost an unreachable goal."

Laughing at her pessimism he teased her gently "You Mckay's are all the same, you always huff and groan but still manage to accomplish miracles under pressure! In fact I believe your grandfather was able to overcome some of the most daring problems under the threat of death. Now, I hope I won't need to wave a lemon in front of your face to have similar results? Hum?"

Groaning in annoyance, she barely managed to huff a vague "No, No lemons needed sir!" before cutting the connection, the admiral's laugh still ringing in her hears.

Like her grandfather before her, she was deathly allergic to lemons and this led frequently to good ribbing from her personal friends when she exhibited character similarities to him. This feared scientist with an Ego as large as his QI was famous for his temper tantrums and his self-preservation instinct enabling him to miraculously sometimes accomplish incredible feats of the mind. The joke had been complete when it was discovered that the simple waving of a lemon in his face by his wife Jennifer was able to send his already brilliant mind to overdrive. Afterwards the feared Doctor Meredith Rodney Mckay had acquired a whole new human level in the eyes of his co-workers and subordinates, a fact he had resented till his death 29 years ago.

Turning her computer back on again, she sent the recall order for the Engineers under her command ready to take their leave and planned reunions after reunions for the next following days. While nothing was official yet, she prepared a brief speech for her personnel to motivate them a little and abort the protest that were sure to happen. Her thoughts drifted to her 22-year-old son, who just graduated from the Naval Academy and joined the ranks as an ensign on the defense Cruiser 87 and part of the 18th Fleet. Her son so full of life who wanted to explore the galaxy like the living legends he heard about in the classroom, and who was heading to mortal peril without even knowing about it.

Chasing the grim thoughts from her mind, she closed the computer and left her office, hoping a night out with her husband would provide a sufficient deterrent and knowing that such nights might become a rarity in the near future.

**

* * *

Free Jaffa Embassy, Atlantis, Terra, Sol system.**

The Free Jaffa Nation had always maintained an embassy in the Terran Capital and considered it a prestigious post for the Jaffa serving its brothers as an ambassador. The current Ambassador, Tra'dor however was not the kind of Jaffa considering his position as an honor but as a thankless job because of the enormous sword of Damocles hanging over his head. After serving 10 years as the Jaffa Ambassador on Atlantis, Tra'dor had started to respect and even admire the key players of the Terran Government, a fact he kept well hidden from his brothers due to the current political climate favoring the faction that despised the Terrans.

However, during the last years of his posting as ambassador, he grew alarmed at the negative reactions to anything Terran, from a continual drop of visitors coming from the Jaffa Nation to the plummeting of several business deals made between the two powers and mostly advantageous for the Jaffa. He knew, of course, of the opposing factions inside the Jaffa Council but he did not believe that the faction opposed to the Terran Federation would one day grew powerful enough to challenge the rest of the council. He was wrong.

Not only did the faction of Warlord Keffu attack a Terran protected world, something not only foolish, as the reaction of the Space Navy was swift and violent, but also frightening. The Terran Federation was sure to expect explanations and apologies, something they were never going to give as a matter of pride first and also because the death of so many Jaffa Warriors would only strike at the heart of the Jaffa Leadership.

Sitting in his office, his back to his desk and facing the floor to ceiling massive windows showing the Terran Capital, he feasted his eyes for the last time on the impressive view he had enjoyed from his office for the last ten years. He calmly set the drink he had made himself to calm his nerves, and turned to face his desk. His hands shaking, he reached for the declaration he had received an hour ago from Dakara and read it for a fourth and last time.

"We, the Council of the Free Jaffa Nation, embodiment of the will of the Jaffa People, hereby declare this.

As of this Day, the Free Jaffa Nation no longer recognizes the Terran Federation as an ally and friend. All treaties and accords made between our two governments as well as those made with the Terran Industry are null and void.

For the attack on our Strike force, sent to reclaim a lost world of our Nation, for the loss of 17 000 Jaffa members of this strike force killed in battle by this traitorous attack and the loss of a world annexed to our proud Nation, we demand:

The unconditional surrender of the leaders of the despicable patrol that attacked our strike force.

A formal declaration from the Terran Government designing the planet Kalina as a Jaffa world.

A formal apology for the unprovoked attack on our forces.

A monetary compensation of 13 Billions credits for the loss of personnel and ships.

Those demands are to be answered with a delay of no more than a week. If this declaration is left unanswered, the Free Jaffa Nation is ready to declare war on the Terran Federation.

Signed by the War Leader of the Jaffa Council, First Councilor Keffu."

He was to present this declaration in front of the entire Terran Senate in special assembly and he knew without a doubt what their response would be. Of course certain members of the Senate were idiots pacifist who thought that the galaxy was a happy place and that none of their neighbors wanted to arm them. But the majority of the senate was intelligent enough to know that this declaration was just a show made to push them in the corner.

Whatever the reaction of the Terran Senate would be, he knew that these would be his last days in this fantastic city and he knew he would miss his position.

Almost reluctantly, he exited his office nodding to the two guards at his door to follow him. He had an appointment to respect.

**

* * *

Chulak, Chartiq Sector, Free Jaffa Nation territories.**

Rya'c, member of the Free Jaffa Council, Warlord of the Chartiq sector comprised of the original fourteen systems held by the deceased System Lord Apophis and 11 planets colonized by the Rebel female Jaffa of the deceased Goa'uld Moloc was holding a private meeting with the allied Warlords members of his faction on the council to discuss secretly the repercussions of the coup organized by the Warlord Keffu barely a week ago.

The surprise take over of the Council was not as complete as Keffu would have liked with his actions, since Ryac's modernist faction, as they were called, was well aware of the deviousness characteristic of the opportunist Keffu.

Contingency plans had been prepared to counter partially any attempt to cease by force the supreme power of the Free Jaffa Nation. However, what the secret committee had not foreseen was for Keffu to use such a bold move as to attack the Terran federation directly and use the Brotherhood bond shared by every Jaffa and veritable basis for the Jaffa Laws to accomplish his goals. Unfortunately, no solution to counteract these actions was available for them and the debate was turning to a shouting match between the different leaders present.

R'yac, now a hundred thirty year old Jaffa, husband of Ka'ryn, father of seven and leader of more than 200 millions Jaffa was pacing in front of his desk, silently pondering the ideas flying around him proposed by the advisors and fellow Warlords allied with him.

I'tar, special diplomatic advisor of the modernist faction was calmly arguing with the Intelligence advisor, Art'io, in the soft tone of voice she possessed "I will repeat again and again Art'io, we can't negotiate with them. The last time we tried that venue, Keffu was able to manipulate the situation in his favor. The results were catastrophic and ended in the loss of the last seat in the council limiting his control of the armed forces. You know as well as I do that the Terran Federation will not sweep these actions under the rug this time, they will not bow down and why would they! They currently hold the most powerful Armada of the Known galaxy. Keffu may outnumber them ten to one with his forces alone, and fifty to one if you count the number of ships he can marshal with his allies, but technologically each of the Terran Space Navy's ship has no equal, even compared to the Asgard and Ori armies of old. "

Art'io, an old Jaffa veteran of the Free Jaffa Rebellion, snorted at yet another example of political folly and replied "The Terran Federation is powerful as you say, but what other choices do we have? Keffu is well on his way of becoming the master of the Jaffa Council and with that position he will be able to declare war on any non-Jaffa civilization he wished to conquer. There is nothing we can do about that and you know it. Our forces are no match to his or the Federation's, you know it and I know it even Keffu knows it. But as he is under attack from the Terran Federation, we are obligated as per our traditions and honor as Jaffa to answer his call. The only honorable way for us to escape the call to arms of Keffu would be if the war would pit us against other Jaffa, then we could formally leave the Free Jaffa Nation and sever all ties with them for their dishonorable conduct. But that would leave us alone against Keffu's forces, and I assure you honor or not, he would not hesitate to attack us to try to take control of our systems. And the Terran Federation does not have Jaffa neither in their armies nor their member worlds so the way is blocked."

The argument escalated between them with Rya'c a silent observer, deep in thought as he weighted the decision he would have to make for the good of the Jaffa that fought under his name and the name of his father.

Truthfully, if it were not for the last request his father made of him, he and his faction would have left the Free Jaffa Nation a long time ago. After the death of his father, many among the Jaffa council had asked him to step up and dissolve the council to take the Jaffa leadership for himself. He had refused then and later, knowing that the last wish of his father was not to create a Jaffa Empire but a Jaffa Democracy, with the freedom of all Jaffa as a fundamental law. For years he had worked to create the kind of government his father would have wanted, until the arrival of Keffu on the council. His arrival sounded the death of the golden years of the Jaffa Nation and the rise of the traditionalist bloc, which started its campaign of reforms. In less than twenty years, the hard earned results he had managed to establish were overturned, the alliances discarded and the benefits annulled.

This last stroke from Keffu was the last he would endure for the memory of his father's dreams. While he had faith in many of his Jaffa Brethren, he had lost all faith in their leaders. It was time to draw on the last ace in their game and in one stroke free both his hands and his conscience. He would not lead a war against a people that had done so much for them and the galaxy. The Goa'ulds had not been defeated only for their former slaves to take their place and his father and his friends sacrifice would not be in vain.

As he rose to speak, all the rising voices slowly but surely quieted down until silence was made in the room. While not the most imposing of Jaffa physically like his father had been, Rya'c possessed a charisma that imposed respect in his pears.

"My friends, the time for drastic measures has come. Our very way of life is threatened and no amount of reasonable talks will change that fact. Keffu and his cronies do not see the good of the Jaffa, only their personal gain and it is a fact that many among us know. There is no use to negotiate with him for he thinks he has all the cards and see only what is in front of him. It is time for us to make a decision: do we follow him on his folly or do we make our own way in the galaxy?

As Art'io said the only way to escape a fight with our friends of the Terran Federation that would satisfy our honor would be if the war started by our leaders opposed us to fellow Jaffa. But how could we respect that condition since we know that no Jaffa serves in the Terran Army?"

Giving them a minute to ponder his words, he turned around to retrieve a holographic pyramid hidden in one of his pockets and placed it on the conference table.

"You are all familiar with the legend of the Sodan Warriors? These Jaffa were the first to see the truth about the Goa'ould Ishkur and rebelled against him. Seeking to cleanse their souls from the atrocities they had committed in the name of a false God they went in the search of Kheb and in their journey found the teaching of the Ancients. For five millennia they thrived and hoped to reach enlightenment until the arrival of the Ori, when the true face of the Ori was revealed to them they again fought the false gods and were almost annihilated. But they survived and are now protected by the Terran Federation, on a world hidden to all and kept secret by the highest instances of the Terran Hierarchy."

Tremors of shock seem to travel through the room as each Jaffa present reacted to the startling news. One of them, Tire'at, minor leader of an allied system stood up to confront Rya'c, furious that such information had been hidden from them.

"How were we not informed that the Sodan, the first Free Jaffa, were not mere legends but real and living peacefully in the galaxy? Why are they not members of the free Jaffa council as they should have been? Their wisdom would have grandly helped us in the beginnings of our society!"

Rya'c re took his place around the table and calmly responded to him, not fazed in the slightest by the vehement tone in his voice. He knew that the truth about the Sodan he had kept hidden at the request of his father would one day come to the surface.

"When the Sodan rebelled against the Goa'ould, they were considered the elite of the Jaffa forces in the galaxy. Jaffa forces of the other Goa'ould preferred to surrender to them than engage them in battle so fierce was their reputation. However when they realized the Goa'ould were false gods they asked for the help of their Jaffa brothers to overthrow them. They were sadly disappointed, their own brethren hunted them at the orders of the Goa'ould and they were forced to flee and abandon all they held dear. Five Millennia later, when we realized the truth and rebelled, they had no more interest in the Jaffa affairs and were dedicated to reach Ascension. For them the Jaffa were betrayers of their own kin and they had no wish to be a part of their Government. They however respect greatly the tau'ri since they were the ones to mount the first effective fight against the Goa'uld and showed the galaxy that they could be defeated. My father himself made many overtures in their favor to entice them to rejoin with us. He was rebuked each time. "

Changing slowly his position, he made eye contact with each Jaffa present to gauge their reaction before continuing.

"However some of you may wonder how the fact that the Sodan are still alive can help us? As you know, the Ashen war of nearly a hundred years ago saw the birth of many new advances in the Terran Armada: new class of ships, new technologies and new classes of soldiers. It was during that time that the creation of a special unit of soldiers whose sole purpose was to get behind enemy line to wreck havoc, to explore without interference and to gather intelligence was decided. We knew the person tasked with the leadership of that unit: Lieutenant General Cameron Mitchell, the only non-Jaffa to have earned the Sodan's friendship. "

"The Terran Federation had acquired many technologies during their exploration, many of them they barely knew how to use or were not very proficient with. One of these technologies was the phase modules they had acquired from the Sodan which emitted minute radiation harmful to the average Terran but necessary to escape the incursions from the fauna native in other phases. They researched for years alternative solutions and during the mean time forbid the use of Phase Modules to their soldiers."

"However the Ashen war forced their hand and as soon as the necessary advancements had been made, their use was implanted. To help train the members of his new division, General Mitchell asked the help of the Sodan warriors who trained the newly formed Terran Special Forces, eventually joining their ranks. It is due to the Sodan's red Armor that the Terran Special Forces acquired the name of Red Ghosts and it is a name they honor. As of now, to my knowledge, at least 15% of the Terran Special Forces are Sodan Warriors and it is my personal belief that Alcantra, the Red Ghost's Training camp is in fact also the home world of the remaining Sodan Jaffa."

Stunned into silence by the sudden revelation, the assembly of powerful Jaffa was slowly coming to the realization that for the first time in over a decade, hope was possible for them and that the slow death of their nation might be stopped.

Seeing the effect his words had on his closest allies, he closed his long reasoning by a simple question with far reaching consequences.

"Now my friends it is our duty to make the choice required for the future of our brothers: do we acquiesce to the wishes of the Council under the direct leadership of Keffu and start a full-scale war against the Terran Federation or do we secede from the Free Jaffa Nation and request membership into the Terran Federation. This is the decision you have to make, I will abstain to vote and let you decide amongst yourselves what our future will look like, but consider this: whatever your decision will be, Jaffa blood will be spilled in this war.

He slowly stood and exited the hall in the company of his wife to wait for their decision without even a last glance.

An hour later, a consensus was reached: with a result of 13 to 5 the Modernist Faction of the Free Jaffa Nation will secede from the Free Jaffa Nation and request membership in the Terran Federation.

The future war was now more than ever a certainty.


	16. Chapter 15

**So finally the next chapter is here. I really don't know when the next one will be out so don't get your hopes up. I can finally understand the delays some authors have between each chapter. **

**Anyway enjoy andi hope you will find this new chapter to your liking.  
**

**Lord Nomad**

**Chapter 15**

**Cyrranus System, in orbit of Gaiatena.**

The 25th fleet had suffered greatly during the attack from the Neo Cylons with the loss of several ships and the crippling wounds inflicted on several others. Thankfully the fail-safes implemented in each Terran Ship had functioned properly and the crew of the destroyed ships had been beamed on the rescue capsule designed to store their dematerialized bodies and minds.

However the same could not be said to the planet below as the Neo Cylons had been able to wreak serious arm to the Capital and it's surroundings. The defensive measures initiated by the 13th tribe were at first successful in their assigned task, but they gradually felled when the boarding capsules sent from orbit to the surface disgorged their contingent of Neo Centurions which made mince meat of the Home Guard dedicated to the protection of the defenses installed millennia ago by their ancestors.

With the land based Plasma Cannons disabled one by one, the Capital City endured more and more under the heavy bombardment until the last Neo Basestar was destroyed. The damage was severe and the Tribe's rescue operations had begun but were rapidly overwhelmed by the sheer number of casualties and the remnants of the Neo Centurions still wrecking havoc in the city.

2 days after the Cylon's defeat, Admiral Delterre was still receiving reports from his fleet' captains concerning the casualties and damages when his aide came to inform him of a message from the 13th Tribe's Council. Apparently the Tribe was requesting their aid in repairing some of the damage brought by the cylon's attack on their planet. However granting their request was for the moment impossible.

As Director Pedersen told the Council before they made their decision, when they voted to refuse formal contact with the Terran federation, they also removed the possibility of help coming from them. The non-interference directive, created with lessons learned from the Asgard and Alterans allowed only Planets having reached the correct stage of Galactic awareness to join the federation for membership either by their own petition or by invitation. However if the legal government refused the invitation, the assistance that could be provided was limited to humanitarian help.

The request from the Council would have to be unfortunately partially refused, as they not only asked for medical and food supplies but also for military aid to defend their planet. The medical aid would be granted by giving duplicated native medical supplies in large quantities but both Admiral Delterre and Director Petersen formally refused to give the expected military aid. The 13th tribe 's response was to invite them to negotiate the pursuit of relations between the two governments, which the Director and the Admiral accepted.

As the two men were the highest ranked in the fleet's military and civilian hierarchy and due to the high probability of Cylon presence on the planet, the first contact shuttle was escorted by a squadron of Arrows and a cloaked Marauder with two special forces teams ready to deploy also cloaked in order to guard the two Terran representatives discreetly.

The shuttle landed in the plaza mimicking it's arrival days before only this time the guards assigned to them were busy clearing the way to the Great Hall from the crowd that waited for their arrival. The two officials were able to understand thanks to their translators the demands shouted at them from the sidelines and if these demands were any indicator to what awaited them inside the Council Hall, Pedersen was thankful to the Admiral's foresight in assigning the Special Forces to guard them.

As if the crowd's yells from their arrival were not proof enough of the rising tension, the echoing roar coming from the Council hall finished to convince them that the ensuing negotiations would be anything but peaceful.

They entered a council hall in the middle of a shouting match between several factions, which fell quiet when they noticed the arrival of the Terran Delegates in their mist. The tension present in almost every Sage's face was even more telling than the absence of First Sage Haram. Unfortunately, replacing him was the Sage heading the front against the Terran Federation during the first meeting, Marite.

Admiral Delterre calmly took his place on the raised table reserved for them while Director Petersen continued on his way to address directly the assembly.

"Sages of the 13th Tribe, as you wished we are here to reopen negotiations with your people to maintain a formal contact with your world. We, as representatives of the Terran Federation are saddened by the attack that occurred and wish to convey our sincere condolences for the deaths endured during the Cylon's invasion of your world. We again offer our help to the maximum of our capabilities to ensure that no new tragedy befell your people. We are ready to supply as much food and healing supplies as necessary …"

The new First Sage suddenly stood up brandishing his hand in a move clearly designed to violently cut Director Petersen's speech and yelled his response.

"YOU are sad? YOU offer condolences to our people? If it were not for you and your damned fleet the Cylons would never have found Gaiatena! We would be at peace, thousands of our tribe's guards and civilians would not be dead and our cities not burned from orbit! Because of you, our most revered Leader, First Sage Haram, was killed while trying to beg these things for mercy. We do not wish your help but we are not in a position to refuse it. And when we ask you for help to defend our planet, your response is to hide behind excuses. YOU are responsible and as such you WILL have to account for the damages you caused with your arrival."

As Marite finished his words, he motioned for the guards at the doors to come. "You are hereby under arrest and will be under guard until such a time your Government and your Fleet has finished helping our people. You will provide us with everything you have and until such a time as the Cylon threat exist you will remain our protectors."

Not believing their eyes at the casual display of arrogance, the Terran representatives were stunned. However barely seconds after the order at been given and seeing the frozen body of his compatriot, Admiral Delterre raised his hand and gave the agreed upon signal to the Special forces team acting as their invisible guards.

In front of a screaming audience, the Red ghosts materialized from thin air and assumed a guarding position around the 2 officials, erecting specially designed force shields as they did.

The crowd which was seconds ago screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs had been silenced instantly by the incredible display and looked hopefully in the direction of their new leader only to discover a stammering wreck in his place. While before the First Sage was pumped full of his own importance, the appearance of armed Terran guards defying his orders had quickly deflated his ego and left him frozen in stupor.

Admiral Delterre made a simple hand sign understood immediately by the soldiers who moved, allowing him to be seen by the entire Council. He assessed them all with a cool gaze before speaking in a tone of voice that suffered no argument.

"We came to your world in good faith, to meet with your people and open peaceful negotiations on behalf of our government and the government of your fellow descendants of Kobol. We were hopeful to become friends with you but we were met with distrust and fear and asked to leave which we did! "

Too stunned to talk, the Council could only watch while the Admiral dressed them dow.

"We are not the ones who brought the Cylons to your world. Had we been their primary target they would have brought the full might of their fleet against us directly instead of laying siege to your world from orbit using the better part of their forces to delay us. We are the reason your planet is not currently under Cylon rule and how do you repay us? Blackmail, betrayal and hostage taking!"

The entire audience stood agape with more than a few looking down in shame at the words leaving the Admiral's mouth. Director Pedersen had quickly shook off his shock and was standing at attention near Delterre, silently giving his support to the military man and pining under a cold stare each member of the Council in turn.

Before Marite could even began to open his mouth, the Admiral turned his back on him and left the front to allow the Civilian envoy to say his piece. "I am sorry to add that from this moment on and until the people of the 13th Tribe decide to change the leadership chosen to represent them, the Terran Federation will not maintain any form of contact official or otherwise with your government."

Seeing the guards still trying to reach them, the Admiral signaled the General's Glory in orbit via his wrist mounted communicator and the whole party vanished in the bright light of Asgard transporters leaving the gathered Tribe's men dumfounded in the great hall.

In orbit over the planet, one of the ships of the 25th fleet released a satellite, which immediately cloaked and placed itself in orbit. Soon afterwards, the entire fleet left the system continuing their journey exploring the space between the Terran Federation and the Cyrannus system.

* * *

**Terra, Capital of the Terran Federation**

The senate was in full session with the representatives of every world in the Terran Federation in attendance to deliver the formal response to the Free Jaffa Nation. The Jaffa Ambassador was in attendance to formally receive the Senate's response but was more than surprised to discover that the Council had sent someone to "assist" him directly from Dakara. He was however more surprised to discover the individual chosen to replace him since he was a Jaffa originally from Kardak, one of the leading worlds of the Chartiq sector under the control of Councilor Rya'c.

Taking his seat at the place reserved for the visiting dignitaries, he calmly waited for the final response, even though he was already well aware what the decision would be. No government would willingly accept the blame for the actions of the other party, moreover if said government was the more powerful one.

His insight was proved correct a handful of minutes later with the speech delivered by the Senate chairman in flowery words designed to take the edge off the refusal but with enough firmness behind them to make the Jaffa Leadership understand the Terran's position. Evidently every demand was refused and further economical restraints than before had been enacted which effectively cut trade between the two nations to nothing. As he accepted the formal letter from the hands of the chairman and prepared to leave, the special envoy stood up and cleared his throat demanding the attention of the assembly.

Furious at the slight made against his position as Ambassador, he was ready to order him to sit down but was too late to stop him. However his anger disappeared instantaneously when the topic discussed became clear to him and was replaced by incredulity and fear.

Standing calmly at the podium, the envoy started his speech to the astonishment of the Senate "Mr. President, Mr. Chairman and Senators I stand before you not as a representative of the Free Jaffa Nation, but as the personal envoy of Lord Ryac of Chulak, Leader of the Reformist movement. "Seing that he had the undivided attention of the assembly, the envoy started his declaration.

"Since the start of the Free Jaffa Nation, Master Teal'c and his Son Lord Rya'c had always considered themselves close friends of the Federation and always strived to emulate the shining example of democracy displayed by our Terran Allies. But since the death of Master Teal'c, the principles upon which was built the Free Jaffa Nation had been trampled by opportunistic Jaffa more interested in their power than the well being of their fellow Jaffa Brothers. Master Ryac had always hoped that the situation could be salvaged but with the ascension of Lord Keffu as First Prime of the council, his confidence in a return to the old Free Jaffa Nation ethics as crumbled and the wish of the council to pursue war with our friends was the last straw. "

Taking a pause for effect the Jaffa ended his speech "By popular vote, the member worlds of the Reformist faction wish to petition formally the Terran Federation for Provisional Membership in the Federation."

The Senate erupted in whispers as some of the senators stood to applause the bold move made by Rya'c of Chulak for the stroke of genius he had done. Using the mounting tensions to segregate his territories from the Council's influence when he knew that no sane Senator would oppose their entry. After all, war was all but declared for now and taking a part of the enemy's forces now would be very beneficial.

Fortunately for Lord Rya'c, the Terran intelligence had delivered many reports over the years about the political unrest in the Jaffa Nation since the emergence of Keffu's faction and ever since his ascension as the First Prime such reports were re evaluated almost daily. When the possibility put forth by the intelligence analyst of a secession in the Jaffa Nation, reached the hears of the Joint chiefs of staff, the decision was made to prepare for any possible opportunity to decrease the chance of a hostile takeover or retaliation to the seceding states.

To that end, four hundred defense satellites, each equipped with a heavy plasma beam capable of dissecting a ha'tak, twelve hundred squadrons of arrows and the needed personnel to maintain them and sixteen battalions of Troopers were ready to be deployed as soon as the order was given. The only problem caused by the sudden decision from Lord Rya'c was the complete unavailability of dedicated starship fleets to defend the newly accepted provisional members. With the lobbying of peacemakers senators against the increase of the military budget, the backbone of the entire Terran Army projection capabilities, the space fleets, had been maintained at the same number for the last decade. A fleet could not be relocated this quickly and in prevision for the worst, the order was given to the newest ship of the line of the Space Navy to prepare to assist via wormhole drive if the Jaffa Council decided to retake by force the "rebelling" Jaffa.

At the same time Lord Keffu was given the news about the defection in his ranks, the order was also given to deploy the massive defensive installation on the newly accepted Provisional member worlds via stargate. By the end of the day, and before any sort of plan for retaliation could even be decided, either a satellite system or an Arrow squadron or even both, protected every world of the Reformist movement.

* * *

**Chulak, Chartiq Sector.**

Rya'c was finally sitting down for some rest after almost 2 days without sleeping. After making the decision to secede from the Free Jaffa Nation, the process had rapidly accelerated with all the preparations completed in secret with only the highest level of his councilors aware of the impending announcement in front of the Terran Senate.

Decisions after decisions had been made; plans chosen and discarded as soon as they were created until everyone agreed.

The following morning the proclamation was made to the general population declaring at the same time martial law and a blackout on gate travels and communications. To further secure the system against spies alerting the Jaffa Council a communication disruptor blocking every single communication wave in the system was put in place so that even if a spy used a legitimate communication array no signal could come through until the arrival of the Terran Federation.

The news of the secession from the Free Jaffa Nation was met originally with dismay and panic but after every fact was made public the tone changed to relief. While the average Jaffa did not have the level of education present in the Terran Federation, the Jaffa of the Chartiq Sector were generally far more educated to the reality of the Galactic politics and no propaganda was made to instill them with a false sense of superiority clouding their judgment. This fact made them all the more relieved to hear that they would be joining the Federation knowing the absolute fear the defenses installed by the Terrans caused in the ranks of the Jaffa of Keffu's army. Defenses that would soon protect them as well!

* * *

**Dakara, Capital of the Jaffa Nation, 4 days later**

Lord Keffu was a patient man. He had waited a hundred years to take control of the Jaffa Nation and had succeeded. If he had to wait millennia to conquer the Terran Federation he would do what was needed to achieve his ambitions. No goal was too far for him and he will prove to them all that HE was worthy of worship, unlike those arrogant Goa'ould whose belief in their superiority had allowed them to become too complacent and ultimately lose the power they had gathered.

He turned around from the balcony he was facing and once again he looked at the tactical map displayed by the terminal in front of him. His generals and direct subordinates were watching him nervously, waiting for his decision on the plan of attack they had prepared to take back the territories held by the reformist faction. The plan was straight forward: four hundred Ha'taks, a thousand Alkesh and a hundred troop carriers dispatched on the principal worlds of the traitorous faction by order of importance, starting with Chulak their capital. Such an invasion force had never before been seen in this galaxy, not even when the System Lords had free rein of it and he was sure that with such a show of force, the seceding worlds would soon be under control with loyal governors again. He had however changed the disposition of forces a little, preferring to devote a quarter of this force to the sole task of retaking Chulak, hoping that the rapid conquest would shock the other worlds to a more peaceful surrender. After all, he had no wish to destroy useful planets since his ultimate goal was the conquest of Terra and its technology. For this he would need all the industrial power available in the Empire, and the reformist faction had worlds specialized in industrial production, more so than his own territories where his traditional stance had slowed, he admitted, the industrial production of his territories. However the benefits had been plentiful for him and his allies since the educational drop had allowed him to assert more control over the Jaffa population in his domain.

With a last look at the tactical map, he gave the final order to his generals to depart to their ships. The attack will begin in barely 10 hours and from his estimation of the Reformist's forces he expected the battle to last for 2 hours. In just 12 hours he expected to be the master of the entire Jaffa Nation and nothing the Terran Federation did would forbid that. He made sure of it.

* * *

**Chulak, Chartiq Sector 5 hours before.**

The Stargate opened in its usual display before it began literally expulsing people. The first arrivals were not even seen by the Jaffa guarding the ring as they were out of phase and immediately sent the go ahead to the battalion coming through to secure the Capital world of the reformist Jaffa. For 2 hours straight, Terran _Fishers_ streamed through the vortex and started rematerializing the troops they carried as well as their equipment. The same display was replicated in over 15 worlds of the newly entered provisional member and as soon as the Troops had been transferred the Defense satellites dedicated to planetary protection were dispatched automatically guided to their necessary position for optimal coverage in orbit.

The 207th battalion HQ was being built piece by piece via drones unleashing an army of nanites in the flanking mountains surrounding the Jaffa City, allowing the newly built command center to benefit from the mountain's protection and separating the Terran Army from the Jaffa quarters. While the Terran commanders had faith in the Jaffa Leadership of Rya'c, they still feared spies and saboteurs from Keffu's fanatics to harm their efforts and the necessary separation and security of the planet's new defenses was given priority. Under 10 hours, the headquarters were fully functional and manned by the Terrans Space Troopers with 18 plasma cannons placed in strategic positions and ready to repel a space invasion from space. The security against intrusions and spies was assured by the fact that the headquarters were completely isolated without any natural entry points. The Asgards transporters were used as doors for the whole headquarters allowing the security personnel to screen and disarm every non Terran Personnel entering the facility assuring with the 2 meters wide reinforced Naquadah walls and a shield the total impregnability for the Terran principal headquarters in Jaffa Territory.

* * *

**Atropos, Ilempiri Homeworld, Terran Federation member.**

Prince Tarik Klot was looking a last time through his wardrobe, silently cursing under his breath while mentally running a checklist for his backpack. Sullenly, he glanced again at the holo screen on his desk displaying the new orders cancelling his leave and assigning him as the XO on the "_Bounty Hunter_", the newest ship whose Prototype had just cleared the final testing in secret three weeks ago.

At least, he mused tiredly, the orders came with a bonus, an elevation to the grade of Commander of the Special Forces, Hunting Division.

The Special Forces were an oddity in the armed forces of the Terran Federation. While the two main branch of the Terran Army were specialized in their role, the Special Forces were a jack-of-all-trades, smaller in size, but with the ability to accomplish tasks more delicate in nature.

What few people outside of the upper echelons of the armed service realized was that the only public face of the Terran special forces the general people knew was the SED: the Stargate Exploration Division which represented only 15% of the deployed Special Forces personnel. In truth the Special Forces were divided in five Divisions, each specialized in a different way: Exploration, Protection, Intel, Hunting and Commando.

Each division had developed during its existence variations of the ships of the line available to the Terran Army. The "_Bounty Hunter_" was in appearance like almost every Cruiser Class ship of the line, however modifications had been made by the Hunting Division to suit their needs and improve key functions necessary for their missions. Longer by 10 meters, thinner by 2, the ship was made to be unnoticeable by the enemy ships as well as the allied ships of the Federation. The armament was limited to one Drone battery leaving more space for a Marauder, Triplicates stealth systems and extended power generation. This type of ship had only one type of purpose: enter enemy or allied territory unnoticed to accomplish wet works missions and leave similarly.

Tarik finally closed his luggage and checked a final time his rooms in the Palace. He looked a last time at the picture of his family, the Royal Family of Ilempiri, ancestral rulers of the race and last survivors of the purge ordered by the Goa'ould when they took over the world. His father was the last survivor of the line secreted away a thousand years ago by the last king's bodyguard so that one day their civilization could be restored. The Ilempiri had been a peaceful and advanced civilization at a technological level equivalent to earth in the 90's, until the Goa'ould discovered and enslaved them to take them as host due to their physical abilities. But while the Ilempiri appeared at first for the Goa'ould like the perfect hosts due to their average lifespan of over 200 years, their physiognomy had one glaring defect for the Goa'ould, their complete incompatibility with a symbiote whose implantation caused its death.

The Goa'ould after realizing that this race wouldn't submit by the usual means developed a drug they called Roshna and made the entire race dependant on it to enslave them further. It was only thanks to a Terran Federation scientist that found a cure to the Roshna that the Ilempiri were able to shed the chains that enslaved them and allowed them to rejoin the stars as a race once more.

20 years after their liberation, the Ilempiri entered the Terran Federation as full members and since then had invested every effort to fortify the interstellar state, knowing that their survival in the front of the dangerous universe they lived in came from the unity they shared.

Tarok left his quarters, leaving a letter for his mother, knowing that she always worried for him when he was on duty and far from his ancestral planet. He sometimes wished his parents understood his drive to make his career in the army at the expanse of his duties as one of the Royal Princes like his brothers. But as the yougest of the Ilempiri Princes he had to set an example for his people. By his enlistment in the Terran Federation Army he bolstered the recruitment on the planet by 45% and the number increased each time he appeared in public in uniform at his Father's side.

The only problem the general public had with him came to the Special Forces branch he was a member as each of his missions were classified beyond even members of the Royal Family. It was a source of great discomfort for his parents to never know what kind of work their son was doing although they had a small idea. The upper members of the Military hierarchy of each member world had at least an inkling of the work every branch of the military specialized into. The hunting division was like its name enthused specialized in the disposal of potential threatening individuals or factions whose goals went against the Federation's security, even though many thought of their work as immoral, politicians knew that it was necessary. Furthermore to avoid any abuse of the system from interested parties, every target was selected personally by Three Triumvirates, each one anonymous from the other and presented to the Shadow Council which voted in assembly with every member having a veto right of 6 months. Thanks to this division, many terrorists groups and would be Goa'ould revivalist had been eliminated before they became a problem.

He finally reached the transport room of the Palace and signaled the technician posted there to beam him out. A second later he stood in front of the Stargate, having used his military pass to cut the line of travelers and inputted himself the coordinates remotely to the gate, bypassing the terminal thus avoiding the tracking and logging of his destination to the secret planet of Alcantra, Home world of the Sodan as well as base, training camp and Shipyards of the Special Forces.

* * *

**New Kobol, New Colonia.**

President Lee Adama watched the last polls come in from the referendum he had commissioned and debated for a week.

After their successful installation on New Kobol, and the influx of survivors coming from the devastated colonies finally settled in, the political tension had started to rise in the government. While the inclusion of the survivor's leaders in key positions in the administration had been successful in quelling the first protesters, the call of the opposition was growing more virulent each week and many in the government believed the situation would explode well before the Presidential elections in 9 months.

Faced with a growing discontent due for a part to the disproportions in the Quorum where the 12 delegates supposed to represent the population were more and more looking for a way to keep their positions instead of seeking solutions to the problems appearing with the planet's colonization and due in an other part to the disrespect shown by key factions of zealots which believed the Terran Federation liars and wanted to rupture any contact with them, considering them non believers and no better than the Cylons since they believed for the most part in only one god.

With the fall of the entire political structure of the Colonial Government, the President had decided to launch a general referendum seeking exceptional powers to establish new articles of colonization since the previous ones, created with the idea of joining twelve worlds together against a common enemy was no longer viable. With whole worlds barely represented in the population and the too present religious aspect becoming rapidly a gangrenous weight in the thinking process in New Kobol, Lee Adama hoped that the new articles of colonization would allow the formation of a more stable form of government even if for that he had to lose the presidency.

An aide entered and gave a single nod to his questioning stare. The President let loose the breath he was holding and took one of the two speeches he had prepared in advance in case of victory or defeat.

With the backing of the entire colonial population, he finally had the legitimacy to oversea and led the reformation without the obstacle that the zealots represented.

Appearing in front of the cameras, he smiled calmly at the reporters standing and shouting their questions at him. He stopped them with a simple gesture of his hand and cleared his throat to silence the last murmurs.

"My fellow Colonials, 4 years ago we lived through the worst tragedy our people had ever endured. Our civilization, our way of life, fell. Not to an enemy from far away, from a stranger, but to our own creations. And we survived! "

President Adama put his palms on either side of the stand and leaned forward staring intently into the lenses of the cameras. "We survived the attacks; we survived the privations but most importantly our civilization, our culture survived. But it comes a time when survival must come to an end and for evolution to begin. The Articles of Colonization were created at a time of great strife were unity was more important than liberties and it is time that those Articles be allowed to evolve into new Articles of Foundation."

Leaning back he continued" We can't recreate the Colonies of Kobol! But we can preserve our culture and our way of life by remembering that above being Sagittarians, Virgons or Capricans, we are Colonials! We are humans! We are New Kobolians! So Say we All!"

Leaving the room after the resounding echoes of the assembly's response, Lee entered his office to start the interviews to answer the various questions asked by the reporters. He let out a shuddering breath in the privacy of his own office, knowing that the battle had only begun.

* * *

**Chartiq Sector, 15 hours later. Jaffa invasion Fleet's attack +2 hours.**

The orbit of Chu'lak was full of so much debris from the dying ships that someone could go from the planet to the edge of the system just by jumping from one to the other.

The battle was still raging even thought the defensive satellites had almost all been destroyed by the Jaffa fleet literally throwing their ship at them. The casualties in the Arrow squadrons were high in spite of the safety capsules installed in their fighters and after 2 hours of combat the pilot's minds were starting to bow before the task.

The Jaffa assault ships had landed more than 10 000 troops already and reports of open warfare in the street were abundant in the Terran HQ were the entire sector's reports were coming in.

5 Reformist worlds had been captured already and the Terran HQ was on the point of being overwhelmed by the Jaffa bombardment from the 40 remaining ships in orbit of the capital world.

The defense satellites had accomplished their work well, however the Terran strategists had not counted on the Jaffa commander's willingness to sacrifice ships just to take down the satellites. The Arrow Squadrons had enabled the Terran army to gain some time until Navy reinforcement arrived, but hope was starting to wane, as the ETA of any fleet at flank speed was not until an hour.

Above the skies of Chu'lak, a massive wormhole opened allowing a massive ship to enter the system almost on top of the bombarding Jaffa Ships. Obscuring for some of them the light of the system's sun.

The monstrosity, for it could only be that in the mind of superstitious jaffa, seemed to look at them like a predator looking at his prey: the absolute confidence that it's place in the food chain was way above them.

On that day, the galaxy watched as the Terran Federation proved once and for all that their enemies were right to fear them.

On that day, the _Vultur Griphus_ showed them exactly why it is not a good idea to awaken the sleeping dragon.

And on that day, the Jaffa finally understood why their former masters lost against the Tau'ri.


End file.
